Rumor
by Romantically Distant
Summary: Guess my Name. It is a simple task, or is it? "You think so? There are over 5000 female names in our country, not including unisex names. There are a lot of options; and you only get one try." The young pinkette told the group of males. AU Fic
1. Prolouge

Rumor: Prologue

* * *

"Once upon a time," The white haired male started the story his daughter wanted him to tell.

"You are going to start off with _that?_" The young girl whined.

"What is wrong with that? All the good stories start out with that." He said.

"But Daddy, all the good stories have the same plot! I want something exciting!" Her viridian eyes stared at her father.

"You are six, what do you know about plots, Sweetie?" her father asked with a smile adorning his lips.

"I can sum up all those 'Once upon a time' stories!" The vibrant six year-old stated.

"Is that so? Care to do so right now then." His eyes crinkled just a bit as he looked at her.

"Once upon a time, a damsel needed help and her prince charming came to her rescue. They had to fight through obstacles to get to their destination and on the way they fell in love. Once finished the two love birds strolled away in their _happily ever after._ The end; so you see, the plot is really all the same!"

"Everyone wants a happy ending; making up these stories are a way to get them."

"That's the keyword father—everyone _wants_ a happy ending. But no one is _trying. _You can want all your heart desires, but wanting isn't going to get you anywhere except the extra step you need to take!" The verbose six year-old stated.

"Baby, you can try all you want sometimes and you still will never get where you want to be. We are in a time like that."

"No, father, we are not. We are in a time filled with crooks and frightened people. We are like pigs in a slaughter house. We can choose what to eat, but we don't choose when we die. But we could, the question is would we? I think we could if we worked hard enough; if we wanted it bad enough. You are right though father; sometimes we can try and get nowhere. But for every one of those times we can _do_ and get anywhere."

Her father looked at his daughter who knew too much for her age. She was intelligent and outgoing, but her opinionated spirit usually kept her friendless and in trouble. He sighed and got up from his spot on her bed. "I think you should go to bed, dear. I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright, father." The little girl kissed her father good night and drifted into a wonderful dream filled with danger, adventure, and not one 'Once upon a time'.

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**I put everything in this story for a reason! Review please :)**

**-Kori :)  
**


	2. Riddle Me This

**This is just a story I am working on, I had it in my head and I wanted something to keep me busy during….problematic situations. And I think writing this story will help relax the tension of my other story I am writing and hopefully give me a good idea for it. The funny thing was, I got this idea for this story from one word: Rumor. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Characters, or the riddles I use in these chapters I just get them off of the internet, but I do own this plot.**

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Rumor: Chapter One

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**-Twelve years later-**

Sakura was strolling down the streets of her hometown. It was the same routine each day. Everyone was politely cold and slightly distant, and she pretended it never hurt. She'd wave at them with a small fake smile and continued on her merry way. Not many people liked her. She had a tendency to argue with the pirates that controlled most of the country. She, along with many others, was surprised she was still alive.

It wouldn't matter if she was dead or not. She had no family to miss her. Her parents were slaughtered when she was eight, by the Akatsuki. It was a stupid reason, one that was false too.

Anger boiled into her at the memory of coming home to her parents' bloody corpses. She swore revenge on the murders. So distracted by her anger she ended up bumping into someone, falling flat on her back.

"Watch where you're walking next time, will you?" Sakura snapped as she got herself up off the ground.

"It's you again!" Sakura looked up to the voice of a familiar male, only this time he wasn't alone; instead he was with three other males.

"What do you want now, Girly boy?" Sakura grumbled as she dusted off her pants.

One of the new boys, the blue skinned one, spoke up. "You do know who we are don't you pinky?"

"You do know, I don't care, right?" Sakura asked back in her sugary sweet tone. "Now, go back and play dress up with girly boy."

"_Why you little bitch,_" The blonde roared. "_I will kill you_!"

"Calm down, Deidara." Another of the new dudes, a red head, said. He turned his attention to Sakura.

"What is your name?"

"Shouldn't you tell me yours first since you are asking for mine?" Sakura snapped.

"I'm Sasori Akasuna. The blonde you yelled at was Deidara, the blue haired man is Kisame Hoshigaki, and the one next to him is Itachi Uchiha. Now tell us what your name is."

"Hm, I think I'd rather not." Sakura smirked.

"It would be wise to tell us your name. Before you anger us any further." Sasori stated dryly.

"No," Sakura said. "But, I will make a deal with you guys…if you aren't frightened enough."

"Oh? And what deal is that?" Deidara asked.

"Only one of the four of you is allowed to take part in this deal; you must not get help from _anyone_. You must _only_ use your previous knowledge; nothing more. No books, no black market, not even the city records. And if you do any of these, you lose this deal, and your group leaves this town for good." Sakura said. "Do you agree to these terms first?"

The three of the four men looked that this girl in shock. The fourth only stared at her for a brief moment in shock before returning to his stoic gaze.

"You expect us, to give up part of our territory if we lose a deal?" Kisame growled. "Are you insane?"

"No, I just think rather illogically. Are you afraid to take the challenge? Because if so, I would love to tell everyone that the infamous _Akatsuki_ is afraid to lose a deal with a girl. I mean I thought you had smart people in your organization, are you doubting your abilities? If that is the case, then I guess that means something big."

"And what does that mean, little one?" Sasori asked.

"_You are not fit to run this town, let alone a country."_ Venom leaked out of her voice like poison from a snake's fang. She wasn't yelling, but the ire was clear.

The group of men was shocked by her sudden change of demeanor. The girl was younger than them, but yet she was daring them all to step up to her challenge and _prove_ themselves to her. They shouldn't have to prove themselves to her. She should know of what they have done, and be afraid. But instead she is insulting them!

"You are on." Deidara growled.

"Alright, you must guess my name; I will be nice and tell you riddles." The rosette said, smiling.

"That's it?" Deidara burst out laughing. "That is easy!"

"You think so? There are over 5000 female names in our country, not including unisex names. There are a lot of options; and you only get one try. Are you _boys_ up for that challenge?"

"_We get only one_ _try? _That's it? You have to at least give us more than that!" The blonde complained.

"I do not. I told you, you—or in this case, one of you—has to _guess_ my name. Notice how it is not plural? And only one of you gets _a_ try."

She just made this bet a whole lot harder on them. They thought it would be easy: just state the common names, then the uncommon. But now that they only had _one_ shot, they had to be careful when deciding what name the pick. Sakura stepped away from them to let them converse amongst themselves.

"Which one of us should do it?" Kisame asked.

"Sasori doesn't have enough patience for her. He will get fed up fast. I mean, we all know he is not a patient man." Deidara stated.

"You are pretty patient, Deidara." Kisame stated.

"She riles him up to easily, though." Sasori said. "We need someone she can't rile up."

"I'm not too sure that is possible. She seems like the type that can get under your skin and stay there." Kisame pointed out.

"She said she was going to give riddles. Who is good at riddles?" Deidara asked.

Sasori and Kisame's eyes turned to Itachi. "He is."

"But would he really do it?" Deidara questioned.

"He has too. Leader would freak if he found out we are backing down from a challenge; and he will kill if he knows it was to a girl that we bet part of our territory on!" Kisame stated harshly.

"Then it's settled. Itachi will be the one who does it." Sasori said.

Itachi's eyes narrowed into slits. "Why do I have too?"

"You are patient and good at riddles. The person who is doing this challenge needs those two traits." Kisame stated bluntly.

"Hn," Itachi glared at his companions.

"Have you decided yet?" Sakura asked. She was three feet away from them and growing impatient. Seriously, how hard was it too decided which one it will be?

"Yes." Deidara said.

"Who is it?" Sakura asked the group of males.

"Him," the three said in unison and pointed to Itachi.

"Alright, come here." She pointed in front of her.

"Do I look like a dog, wench?" Itachi snarled.

"Did I stutter? I said _come here._" The men looked at the girl in shock.

"You dare have the nerve to talk to one of us like that?" Deidara growled.

"_You_ got yourself into this mess; and _you all_ do this daily. If you can't handle it being thrown back in your face, then maybe you should get out of politics—if that is what you want to call your harsh and misguided attempt at ruling our society. Now _come here_ _Uchiha."_

Itachi did so begrudgingly. He hated being told what to do. "What do you want?" He demanded.

"Give me your hand," She grabbed his hand before he even had a chance to comply. Turning his palm upwards, she pulled out a small knife and jabbed it in. Itachi hissed.

"Why you little bitch," Deidara growled. "How dare you attempt to injure one of us? You will pay!"

"Shut your mouth!" Sakura growled back with just as much spit fire.

She let go of his hand and turned the knife towards her own. Sakura sliced her palm open just as much as she did to Itachi's; when she was finished she grabbed his hand once more, forcing theirs together.

Itachi felt a jolt course through his hand, up his arm, and into his torso. "What did you do to me, you wench?" He growled.

"I finalized our deal. You don't think I would take the words of a criminal did you? Now, I will know if you break the deal in any way." Sakura stated.

"And why should we believe you?" Sasori asked.

"You are not the only one who knows their poisons, Sasori." The girl responded back, cheekily.

The men were flabbergasted. Not even thirty minutes ago, she supposedly didn't know who they were, but yet now she has information on them? Was she faking it before? Did she purposely set this up?

"How do you know about my poisons, little one?" The ruby-haired male questioned.

"That is for me to know and you to ponder on you asinine."

Kisame could tell the tension was rising, and it figured he should intervene before things got far beyond their control.

"What does poison have to do with anything?" He asked.

"It's quite simple actually, Kisame." Her voice was now a sickly sweet. "You see, the knife I have is laced with a poison, I made. It's in both our systems; but unlike Uchiha here, I have the antidote. Every few riddles I will give him an extremely small amount of the antidote, until I am done giving riddles. So you see, this game we are now playing, has ended up becoming life and death for him."

She looked over at Sasori. "Before you get any ideas, you can't cure it. I made sure of that."

"But how does that tell you if he was following the rules or not?" Sasori questioned.

"It works on the brain; it's really like another living being, a spy if you wish to call it that. It knows what you do, at all times of any day. The moment you do something that disagrees with our deal; I will know. And then you won't get any more of the antidotes and you will die, especially since the poison slowly multiples on a weekly basis and the longer it multiples the faster it produces."

Deidara and Kisame looked at the pink haired vixen with wonder. Who the hell was she?

"Our business is done for today, don't you think boys?" Sakura winked at them and then turned to Itachi. "You will come back to town tomorrow and there will be a riddle."

"Where will the riddle be at?" Deidara asked.

"Somewhere," Sakura said, flashing them a smile.

"What do you mean somewhere?" Kisame questioned.

"You have to go looking for it." The rosette responded.

"I have to look for a riddle that you are supposed to give me?" Itachi's eyes narrowed at the petite female.

"I don't have to give you anything. I said I would _tell_ you a riddle; not _give_ it to you."

"Sneaky brat," Deidara mumbled. "She purposely set that loophole; I just know it!"

"What time should he be there?" Sasori asked.

"Anytime that is between 4 am and 4 pm. If you are there any sooner, or any later the riddle will be gone forever. And you will need all the clues I tell you." Sakura smirked as she looked at Itachi.

"Hn. Fine." Itachi pivoted on his heel and began to walk off.

"Bye!" Sakura yelled after him. She looked at the other men, and waved them off.

On her way back home she began to think up a riddle. It had to be hard, but not too challenging; at least not right off the bat.

This was going to be very fun for her.

* * *

The market was slow, as expected since it was 5 in the morning. Itachi decided to go early since he didn't want to look for a stupid riddle in a crowd full of people.

He began to walk, wondering where the riddle could possibly be. She was short, and he was tall. Would she put it where he could not see? Or would she put it up high and try to taunt him?

A flash of pink appeared from the corner of his eye. He was at the end of the market, a flower patch just past the last building. She had pink hair, and the riddles were supposedly about her, maybe where she hides the riddles would be too?

He sauntered over to the building and noticed it was a flower shop. 'A girl who likes flowers, typical,' He thought. When he got to the front door, he noticed it was locked. He sighed. "Maybe it isn't here?" He let his gaze go to the field of flowers and decided not to let that idea go just yet.

He walked towards the field. There were so many flowers. Red flowers, blue flowers, yellow, orange, white ones too. He looked all over the field and noticed only one spot was flowerless; all it had was a patch of dirt near the building. The patch dirt caught his eye. He walked over to it and crouched down.

"Bare," He muttered. For a reason not known to him, he reached his hand out to the dirt, and touched it.

Only he didn't touch just dirt. The ground crinkled when he buried his fingers into the soft dirt. He began to swipe of the dirt a little at a time. A small rectangular shape came into view. He picked it up and noticed it was an envelope. An envelope addressed to him.

Pulling out the pocket knife he always kept, he sliced the packet open. When he opened it, there was nothing in there. He growled out, throwing the envelope against the wall of the Flower shop.

When the envelope hit the wall it got stuck in a small crack. A few moments later a small white paper appeared out of the packet. It would have fallen to the ground had it not been for the small piece of tape that attached it to the inside of the envelope.

Itachi walked over to the paper, tore it from the packet and unfolded the paper.

_Riddle:_

_Voiceless it cries,_

_Wingless flutters,_

_Toothless bites,_

_Mouthless mutters._

_Idiot!_

_Congrats, you found the first riddle. Maybe you aren't so dumb after all! Now, I said this riddle had something to do with me, but do not forget that you must have all of the other riddles for this one to make sense later on. It might not be such a bad idea to record the answers to the riddle on the sheet of papers I give you; come back tomorrow for the next riddle. By the way, it will not be in the same place ;)_

_~Psychotically Yours._

With the riddle in hand, Itachi decides to go back to the base. If he wanted to solve this riddle, he would need some time to think.

* * *

Itachi sat alone in his room, staring at the piece of paper. He didn't understand what this riddle had to do with anything that was supposed to be related to the girl.

"Voiceless it cries," He murmured out loud. "That doesn't sound like her; seemed like we couldn't get her to shut up. She's very verbose. Does it have a hidden meaning?"

Itachi stared at the parchment hoping the answer would come out. Maybe she had a secret no one knew? One that was devastating? He shook his head, not agreeing with his own thoughts.

"I'll go to the next line. Wingless flutters," Itachi frowned. This was worse than the first one. Only birds fly. But maybe its inner ambition she is talking about? He didn't like that idea either.

"Toothless bite," He read the third line. 'A baby.' He thought. They don't have teeth, but they like to bite. Did she have a baby? She looked to young; but she could be the baby of the family. That couldn't be it. It was too simple, while they others were too complex.

"Mouthless mutters…"He snorted. "She is anything but mouthless."

"Maybe I am looking at this all wrong. Perhaps I shouldn't look at the riddle line for line, but instead as a whole."

Itachi stared at the piece of paper one more time. He looked at it for twenty minutes, but his mind was blank. What could this riddle's answer be?

"Itachi?" Kisame called out from behind Itachi's door.

"What is it, Kisame?" Itachi growled out.

"It's time for dinner, why don't you take a break? Your eyes probably need a break."

"Hn," He knew his friend was right. He was thinking this through a lot harder than he most likely needed. Something to distract him might help.

"Well, Itachi?"

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." He heard Kisame's heavy footsteps slowly disappear down the hall.

He stood up from his desk and walked across the room, unlocking his door, and headed out to the kitchen a few moments later.

When he got the kitchen, the smell of grilled fish barraged his nose. "Take out I presume?" He asked his friends.

Deidara nodded as he stuffed his face with some rice and fish. "Do you think any of us can cook?" He asked with a mouth full.

Itachi smirked, knowing it was true. None of them could cook, not even him. Itachi grabbed some of food and sat at his usual spot.

"How is it going with pinky's riddle?" Kisame asked.

"Hn," Itachi responded. He took a few bites of his meal.

"It's that tough, eh?" Deidara asked with a mouthful of food.

"So the little one's got brains," Sasori pointed out. He knew that the pinkette must be smart of she stumps Itachi, of all people, on a riddle.

"She signs her the Riddle _Psychotically Yours. _She doesn't have brains, just sheer stupidity._" _Itachi told them.

"It can't be that bad can it?" Kisame asked them.

"Yeah! She can't have beauty and brains; after all, she _challenged_ us." Deidara pointed out.

Itachi didn't respond to any of their comments. He just sat there quietly and listened to their conversations. It was relaxing to just listen.

After an hour of listening to his friends bicker, he figured he should get back to work. Throwing his trash away, he walked back up into his room; he sat in front of his desk, staring at the piece of paper.

"What could it be?" He asked himself aloud. He thought of everything he could.

First he retried the people idea: mutes are voiceless, but they still cry. Optimists still hope, which cause them to soar. Babies bite, even though they are toothless. And people insult each other in their thoughts and under their breaths. But that seems a little to complex for the first riddle. So he decided to think of plants, there was a huge variety. But that still didn't seem right to him.

He just knew it had to be obvious. So obvious, that he was over looking it. But what was he over looking? Why was this so hard? Was he really letting himself get so distracted that he couldn't come up with an answer to this mere riddle?

A few hours later he was still in the same spot, unable to find out what the riddle's answer was. It was late and it was loud. His friends weren't up, but outside was booming. Thunder sounded and the wind would not stop its howling.

_Wind._

That was it. Wind howled, but never spoke. It cried all the time. He couldn't really explain the fluttering, but knew wind always soared. Wind's cold exterior always bit a person's skin. And its roaring mutters could keep a person up.

'Or from figuring out a riddle,' Itachi mused.

Picking up a pen, Itachi took the young woman's advice. He answered one riddle. It only took him about ten hours, but he did it.

Now the only question is: what does the wind have to do with her name?

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**Tell me what you think of this story? Should I continue?**

**-Kori**


	3. Memories

**Thank those that favorite the story and added it to their story alerts. And thank you for all of those that reviewed! **

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Rumor: Chapter Two

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This game of hers was starting of very well. Sakura knew she would have to be careful. Daddy had always warned her not to mess with fire. But isn't that what she was doing? She was messing with a big organization that not only had quite a few members, but the police force to back them. She needed to be careful, so why wasn't she? Especially since her employer is often asked to help the Police as an M.E. Maybe it was insanity.

"I haven't checked on what he was doing for a while now…" Sakura mused, "I should go check it out." She sauntered over to her computer. Sakura wasn't supposed to use this for anything but medical purposes; but this was medical research in her opinion. She was testing out her poison.

She told them that her poison acted as a spy, that wasn't a hundred percent true though. Her poison held a tiny micro-cam that attached to the ocular nerve. She designed it for her friend Ibiki, who was an interrogator that worked for the Police force.

Although Sakura often did things for Ibiki, she worked under Tsunade, who was the Dean of Medicine at the Hospital. Sakura worked as a biomedical technologist. It allowed her to experiment with a wide variety of things. Her favorite—so far— was poisons, which led her to research on Sasori. It was hard; she had to go to the black market for the majority of the information. But unlike him, she didn't favor using her poisons for murder; she didn't even favor them for torture. She just loved how they affected the body.

Sakura hated the Akatsuki. They killed her parents and got away with it. If it was just her the affected, she would move on. She could have coped. But murdering one family is nothing to them. They have to murder millions before feeling complete. Something had to be done about them.

Sakura shook her head. She needed to stop thinking like this; those thoughts are wild fire that consumes a forest. She didn't want ideas like that to consume her. She would in up like them if she did.

"Let's see what Itachi is doing," She said aloud. A few minutes later, she saw that he had figured out the answer to the first riddle.

'I guess I have to get started on the next riddle.' She mused.

* * *

At 3:30 am, Sakura was up and about her hometown's market. No one was up at this hour. The market wasn't usually bustling until 6:00 am. That was why she chose 4:00 am for Itachi. She was cruel, but not heartless.

'Now where should I put this?' She questioned. She didn't want to go near the flower shop; it would be most likely the first place he looked.

'I need a place he knows, but not one he would go. Where would Naruto go?' Sakura mused. She was grateful she tagged along on one of Naruto and Sasuke's many pranks. Those past experiences would help her in her current task.

_Naruto and Sasuke._

That is where she could hide it. Although she knew she couldn't involve those two. They would tell Itachi. Sasuke could never hide something from his brother. He was too _emotionally _attached. The fact that they were apart of the Akatsuki didn't help her case either.

When she first found out, she was pissed. She was angry at them, and they knew why. But, they didn't let that destroy their friendship. In fact, she thinks it strengthened their bond.

Naruto told her why he was in that horrible group and it explained why Sasuke was as well. Both Naruto and Sasuke were in that group because of family. The Uchihas were the founders of the Akatsuki, with Madara as the organizer. Naturally they would support one of their own, which explained why Sasuke was apart of it. Naruto, he was a bit trickier, and Sakura learned something she didn't know. He was adopted, by the Uchihas. So his affiliation lied more with the Uchihas then the organization itself.

But it bugged her; the fact that she didn't know that her two best friends—who she was close to since she was eight—were a part of the organization that she despised. When she found that out, it hurt her; but she learned that she couldn't trust anyone as much as she thought.

She was close to her friends' house. The closer she got to it, the more she wondered if placing her riddle here, would be a good idea. It would be the perfect spot; Itachi would never guess to check his own family estate, let alone his brothers' house. But at the same time, his mother knew her—she lived right next door—and if she was caught here with the riddle, the game would be over. After all, how do you explain to a woman that you are toying with her son by giving him riddles to guess her name. Knowing Mikoto, it she would jump to conclusions and Sakura didn't want.

There was also the chance that other Uchihas would notice her. They leave her alone thinking she was visiting the two boys; and when her prey—if he does figure out where the riddle is—came looking they would certainly tell. Then her plan would fall apart.

'Well, if this game was supposed to be easy then I wouldn't have to give him riddles.' She mused. She knew that sometimes you just had to take chances. Even though, the chance she was about to take was going to be a big one, she knew it would be worth it.

She got to the outside of their house. She didn't want to be seen, it would be a lot easier for her, if she wasn't. It was dark right now, so she could easily slip in without being noticed. But what about later on today, how would she go unnoticed? She stared at her surroundings and looked for a way that she deemed would be good. Suddenly, she noticed two old, branchy, elms.

'Those would be perfect!' She grinned. So she had her back up plan, now it was time to place the riddle.

Her soft footsteps were barely audible as she snuck across her two friends' yard. When she got to the side of the house she noticed the back porch light was on.

'Maybe the back yard would be a better hiding place,' she thought. A quick split decision later, she was in their back yard next to a tall Willow. Cliché enough, the willow had a small hole in the center of its trunk.

'If I place it here the rain wouldn't get to it,' she thought, knowing the water would smear the ink, making it unable for Itachi to read. She might want him to lose this game, but she wasn't unfair.

So without a second thought, she placed the riddle in the tree trunk and started to leave the compound. She looked behind her once more to make sure everything was safe.

"Ouch!" She whispered harshly as she felt a small tree branch poke her in the neck. Ignoring the small pain in her neck, she rushed off.

A small silver chain laying where she stood just moments ago.

* * *

"_Teme!"_ A loud voice could be heard across the Uchiha District.

"What is it, Dobe?" A disgruntled voice said. The figure was coming down the stairs.

"Someone was trespassing! I just saw them leave our property!"

"Dobe, it is…" Sasuke looked at the clock on their living room wall, "3:45 in the morning. No one would be up this early. Not even you…wait, why are you up this late?"

"I was hungry…" Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "So I thought Ramen would be a good snack."

"What did Kaa-san say about Ramen?" Sasuke sighed.

"It's the greatest thing in the world!" Naruto grinned.

"No, it is bad for you."

"Teme, don't get off topic. Someone was in our yard!"

"No one was in our yard, baka. But if you want I will call my father in the morning and he and Aniki can check it out later. Now go back to sleep." With that said the dark haired teen climbed up the stairs and back into his room.

"I know there was someone there…" Naruto mumbled to himself, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't listen to him. 'Oh well. I know I am right. But for now, ramen time!' He grinned and headed off to the kitchen to make him some food.

After eating he climbed back into bed and remained sound asleep.

* * *

It was seven in the morning and all Itachi wanted to do was go back to sleep. To make matters worst, it was raining. And he had to find the stupid riddle because Kisame had to bring up the vixen and rile Deidara up in front of the leader. So now not only was her _game_ life and death for him, but also _ordered_.

He had to think hard. He wanted to get this over with soon. So where would she hide the riddle? Last time it was at a flower shop. She was a girl and girls like flowers. That was predictable, but would her next location be just as easy as the first?

That would be very unlikely. If it was predictable he would have found it when he started looking, three hours ago.

A few moments later, the Uchiha's stomach growled. He was so preoccupied with finding the riddle so he could go back to bed, that he forgot to get something to eat.

'Mother and Father are up by now. I'll stop by there for some food.' Itachi thought and headed back the way he came.

It took him about five minutes to get to his old home, but when he arrived his mother immediately latched on to him.

"Welcome home, Itachi; I missed you! Where have you been? Are you eating well?" His mother asked after letting him out of her hug.

"Yes mother I am fine." He regretted coming here. He loved his mom, more than he did his father. But her overbearing attentiveness made it hard to leave, literally.

"What brings you here, son?" His father asked. He was leaning against the doorway of their kitchen.

"Fugaku," his mother scolded, "be nice! We don't get to see him as often as we do Sasuke and Naruto!"

"I was just asking, Mikoto." Fugaku looked at his eldest son, "Hungry?"

Itachi nodded. "Good, I will make your favorites. Your brothers will be here soon, and then we can all eat!" Mikoto said.

"Why are they coming over?" Itachi inquired. He knew his brothers loved to visit their parents, but they usually didn't come over for breakfast. They preferred to sleep in.

"Naruto claimed to see an intruder earlier this morning and Sasuke wanted me—and possibly you—to prove that there wasn't one."

"Hn." Itachi replied. If anyone else heard that reply they wouldn't have known what it meant. But the two parents of the boy, one being a user and the other fluent in 'hns' knew what it meant.

'Maybe it was the pink haired woman?' He mused.

"Will you help your father, Itachi?" Mikoto asked.

Itachi nodded. "When will Sasuke be here?"

"In thirty minutes," Mikoto replied before heading off to the kitchen to prepare her son's favorites.

"Sit down, son. How is the organization going?" Fugaku said, sitting down at his seat of their dining room table.

Itachi debated on whether or not if he should tell his father about his current mission. With the Uchihas supporting the Akatsuki his missions weren't classified. But how would his father take to a girl defying them?

"There is some defiance within the village that we are working out." Itachi said after a few minutes.

"How can we help?" Fugaku asked.

"You can't."

"Nonsense son, the police force can handle anyone in this village."

"If we can't handle it, neither can your squad father."

"But you _can_ handle it, Itachi."

Itachi nodded and said nothing more. His father, knowing Itachi well enough, knew that it was the end of discussion.

"The food will be ready in just a moment." Mikoto said, entering the dining room and looked at Itachi.

"Kaa-san! We are home!" Itachi immediately recognized that voice as Naruto's.

"Welcome home, Naruto! Where is Sasuke?" Mikoto said smiling.

"Here mother," Sasuke walked into the room with Naruto. Both the young boys saw Itachi.

"Weasel!" Naruto grinned.

"Aniki," Sasuke nodded "How are you?"

"Good, little brother."

"So what brings you here?" Naruto asked, sitting down in his usual spot.

"Naruto! Itachi lived here too!" Mikoto scolded, smacking her adopted son on the head.

"Well he doesn't usually stop by, kaa-san!" Naruto whined.

"He is right, Okaa-san." Sasuke said, then looked at Itachi waiting for him to answer Naruto's question.

"I just stopped by to eat, little brother."

The family heard a ding, and Mikoto rushed back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came out with food, plates, and the dining utensils.

Itachi ate in silence, his mind continuing to drift back to his mission. Would looking for his brothers' intruder help?

"So, Naruto, where was this so called intruder?" Fugaku asked.

"He was in our backyard," Naruto said. He was still stuffing his mouth while answering.

"Naruto," Mikoto looked at her son in shock. "That is disgusting! I taught you better than that!"

Naruto swallowed, grinned sheepishly and apologized.

"It's probably nothing Otou-san, but can you check it out so the Dobe will let it go?"

Fugaku nodded at his son. "I will. It might be the person that is giving Itachi trouble."

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widen. They looked at Itachi. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Naruto…well Naruto just busted out laughing.

"Who is giving you trouble, Aniki?" Sasuke asked.

"No one is giving _me_ trouble. They are causing problems for the Akatsuki."

"What are they doing?" Mikoto asked.

"They are trying to over throw us." Itachi said. But he wondered if the phrase 'over throw' was a good description. She wasn't trying to get rid of them once and for all…just get them out of Konaha.

"How are they doing that?" Naruto asked.

"More importantly, why are you letting them?" Sasuke asked. He knew his brother never took shit from anyone. So why was this person different?

"Deidara would have loved to have done something, but Pein thinks we have already instilled enough fear already."

"I don't see why Madara isn't leading that organization. Pein is too soft." Fugaku scoffed.

"Madara is stupid, Father. The only reason the Akatsuki has remained in power is because of Pein." Itachi replied.

Itachi didn't usually stand up for the Akatsuki leader. But no one in the organization could stand Madara, or as he wanted them to call him, _Tobi. _Not even him.

Fugaku blinked. Never had Itachi spoken against him. "Madara is an Uchiha, Itachi. He made the organization, he deserves to rule it."

"No one would follow his orders." Itachi stated. Although he didn't say it, everyone at the table knew the topic had to be dropped.

"Anyone want some dangos?" Mikoto asked, attempting to ease the tension. Only Itachi took some dangos, the rest just sat in silence.

"So you guys didn't kill the guy because of Pein?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke how do you think it would look if we killed someone randomly?" Itachi questioned.

"But you wouldn't be. They would be arguing with you, wouldn't they?" Naruto asked.

"No one would hear the argument. It was a conversation between the five of us, and if we slaughtered the person it would appear as cold blooded killing." Itachi responded.

"And that could cause a revolt, right?" Sasuke asked. Itachi nodded.

"Why would it cause a revolt?" Naruto asked.

"Someone killed randomly in public, seriously Dobe?" Sasuke asked, but he continued to go on and explain. "It would cause fear because the people will think that the Akatsuki have gone insane and they will think that they are next. Logically it is better to die fighting than to die doing nothing, Dobe."

"Oh, okay." Naruto said.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "You didn't understand anything I said to you, did you?" Naruto shook his head.

"Are you going to do something about them?" Fugaku asked.

"Yes we are." Itachi said.

"How about we check on the so called intruder?" Mikoto said.

The boys nodded and left for Sasuke's house.

* * *

Itachi looked at the trees in his brothers' back yard. Something shiny caught the elder brother's eyes. He stepped closer towards the shiny object that lay right below his feet. Bending over, he grabbed the necklace and walked towards his family.

"Okay, son, where did you see the intruder?" Fugaku asked Naruto.

"He was in the backyard. I only saw him for a minute, he was running away." The blonde replied.

"Are you sure you weren't imagining it? You were half asleep walking down the stairs." Sasuke said.

"Shut up, Teme! I know what I saw!" Naruto yelled glaring at Sasuke.

"Both of you quit arguing! It won't help your father and brother with anything!" Their mother chided them.

"But Kaa-san," Naruto whined, "Itachi isn't doing anything!"

"You said the intruder was a male?" Itachi, who had been silent since they got there, asked.

"Yes," Naruto said, nodding.

"It wasn't a male, it was a woman," Itachi said. Naruto and Sasuke looked at him with wide eyes.

"What?" They both yelled. Immediately they jumped to the conclusion that one of their fan-girls tried to get into their home and attempt to _seduce_ them.

"It doesn't look like she was breaking in though," Fugaku said, backing up Itachi's claim. "Nothing on the deck was touched at all."

"How could it not be a male?" Naruto asked.

"Males don't tend to wear a diamond in crusted necklace." Itachi said, holding up a small silver chain with a black diamond heart attached to it that he found just a few minutes before.

"Where was she, when you spotted her, Naruto?" Fugaku questioned.

"By the tree," Naruto said as he pointed to the Willow.

"Okay, Itachi you check over by the tree." Fugaku asked.

Itachi walked over to the tree and gazed around it. If it was really the woman, why did she choose here? After a few seconds of looking, the area really wasn't that big, he found the note.

'So it was her.' Itachi mused. 'I'll open it when I get back to the base.' Itachi headed back to his family as he pocketed the note.

"Did you find anything?" Fugaku asked his eldest son.

"No," Itachi said. "I don't think they have to worry about her coming back though."

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"Call it a hunch." Itachi left it at that.

_

* * *

_

_Riddle: It helps keep the past forever remaining in the present._

_Miss me? _

_I hope you did. This game is quite fun, don't you think? I should get to the point though. Tomorrow I will give you the next riddle, Why, you might ask? Because I am going to give you a little bit of the antidote. If you don't trust me you can bring one of your…friends. Would you call them friends? Anyway I will see you at the Town Gate at 5 AM sharp. _

_-Psychotically yours._

Itachi stared at the letter. He noticed how she writes to him is so…_informal_. She speaks to him as if they were friends. What game was this woman actually playing? He shook it off and decided to focus on the riddle, which this time seemed a bit easier than the last. Weren't riddles supposed to get harder? He looked at the riddle.

It's the past that forever remains in the present. How the hell are the past and present be related with one object? Itachi took the necklace out of his pocket and stared at it.

The necklace seemed so familiar to him. He knew he saw before, somewhere. If only he could remember where.

From the back of his head, Itachi heard a voice; a voice from when he was younger. A memory, he assumed.

**-Flashback-**

"_Itachi, why do you always over analyze?" a soft, female voice asked._

"_I do not over analyze."_

"_Yes you do," She laughed. "Remember to take a break, Itachi. Remember to be human."_

"_Not everyone is as care free as you." Itachi shot her a pointed look._

"_Promise me?" She asked._

"_Maybe," He said softly. He couldn't say no to her, but he couldn't promise something he knows he wouldn't do._

"_You are going to kill yourself like that. It's not that hard to just _remember_."_

**-Flashback-**

"Remember," the feminine voice still echoed in his head. "Remember." He repeated the word.

"The past that forever remains in the present," Itachi murmured to himself " Remembering keeps the memory in the present."

Itachi quickly jotted down the answer of the riddle.

* * *

"Where is it? Where is it!" The frantic pink haired woman screamed. She was tearing her house apart looking her heirloom.

"I can't believe I lost it! Where could it be? Where?" Sakura bit her lip rather roughly.

"Calm down, Sakura. Back track, you will find it." She took a deep breath. "I put it on when I woke up, I went to the boys' house and I ran into a tree branch…" Sakura's eyes widened in shock at the memory; the necklace was old, and she often had to re-clasp it more than once every time she wore it. Running into the tree must have knocked it loose.

And now, the one object she would die for could be in the hands of a merchant ready to sell it, or worse. She didn't want to think about it.

"I just pray Itachi doesn't find it." Sakura whispered as a tear cascaded down her face.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to update. I was really busy. Plus we are going throw some bad weather here, and although school has been cancelled since Tuesday because if it, we have days were we lose power. This chapter is kind of wordy, but it saves me a lot of trouble later on. And it introduces characters that otherwise would have been eliminated even if they are considered important. Please critic, it helps me. This is my first, long-chaptered, not about things I can relate too story. I am very grateful for all that helped point out things and hope you do it again. Please tell me if there is something you dislike about my story and I will try to change it. So Review please? **

**-Kori**


	4. Deathless Song

**Okay this is a short chapter for this story. But I have had a lot of stuff going on and I really need to think things over which didn't allow me much time to type up this story. However, I did type up the majority of this chapter today. **

* * *

Rumor: Chapter Three

* * *

Sakura was preparing herself for her meeting with the Uchiha. The resolve she normally would have had was gone; gone with her necklace. "I can't believe I was so stupid! How could I lose that of all things?" She grumbled to herself.

She looked at herself in the mirror, making sure the knife in her boot couldn't be seen. She didn't want to be unprepared; she had to be ready for anything.

As she walked out of the door, she couldn't help but realize how defeated she felt. Itachi hadn't even done anything, but she still felt hopeless. All her strength was in that necklace. It was her courage. She loved that necklace more than she loved her own life. And she was stupid enough to lose it.

Sakura took in a deep breath as she continued to walk down the street. It was almost five, and she was already supposed to be at the gate waiting for him.

"God, I'm out of it today!" She berated herself quietly, but harsh. She quickened her pace in order to be there at least at five. She was hoping to be there before him, but to her dismay he was waiting for her.

"You're late." The deep male voice of his sounded.

"Or you are just early." Sakura responded. "Now you get two options. First I can give you the antidote, or I can give you the riddle first. Which one would you prefer?"

"You can give me both and leave." Itachi responded.

"And you can pick one."Sakura replied cheekily.

Itachi stared her down for a few minutes, and honestly it freaked her out. His eyes just fixed on her; the hair on her neck rose with the sheer awkwardness of the gaze. She didn't like to be stared at, ever. It didn't matter who stared at her like that, she did not like it.

"Quit staring at me!" Sakura stomped her foot, her voice was sharp and childish. Itachi looked at her with amusement.

"Did you just stomp your feet like that? You're not ten anymore," Itachi chided.

"How do you know? You don't know my age; I could very well be ten." Sakura told him, sticking her tongue out at him in the processes.

Itachi stepped closer to her and grabbed her wrist, yanking her even closer to him. Their bodies were so close; Sakura could feel his breath fan her face. Itachi wanted to see how far he could push her. He had to get some type of revenge after all. "You're body doesn't lie."

Sakura looked at him mouth a gape. She was trying to process what he just said. When it dawned on her, the rosette's emerald eyes narrowed. Her hand raised and if Itachi didn't catch it he would have been slapped. "You pervert!"

Itachi smirked. "I'm no pervert, but I suggest you watch your hand or you might lose it."

"Are you threatening me? I'm the only one that could give you the antidote!" Sakura almost screeched. She would have, if she didn't remember the time of day it was.

"I might have. Now would you give me the antidote _and _the riddle?" Itachi asked. Impatience was finally showing through.

"Fine," She grumbled at him. She pulled out a small blue vile from her pocket and handed it to Itachi.

"I am serious when I say this, Itachi. Do not drink that with food or any drink other than water._ No matter how bad it tastes._ It will kill you."

Itachi nodded his head in understanding. "Now where is my riddle?"

"You don't get a note this time, since you have gorgeous me to deliver it to you." Sakura said flashing him a sly smile.

"Gorgeous? I don't see anyone by that description here." Itachi refrained from chuckling when he heard her huff.

"Well, no need to get snarky pretty boy." Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

But despite her brash behavior she was nervous. No nervous wasn't the term, she was deathly scared. Her courage did not exist. The face she was presenting was merely a facade.

She couldn't bring herself to feel secure. Not that she should, she was in front of a _strong_ member of a feared organization in her Home town. But she grew up with that sense of safety. Her bold behavior as a child was simply her way of protecting her loved ones. That intrepid streak she had made her feels confident and secure. She loved that feeling but she never really understood where the origin of that brash nature came from. As far back as she could remember she always had it. And when she was ten, her gutsy tendencies grew worse when her mother gave her that necklace. It made her feel pretty and that beauty amplified her opinionated mouth and any doubts about her washed away fairly quickly.

Sakura looked at Itachi, waiting for him to talk. Itachi didn't say anything. Instead he leaned over and clasped his teeth on her tongue for a brief moment. He looked at her with a triumphant smirk plastered on his face.

Sakura yelped. "You jack ass! Why'd you bite me?"

"If you insist on acting like a child I will treat you like one." Itachi replied.

"Then I pray I never have a child with you, you'll just abuse it!" Sakura heckled.

"You _would never_ have a child with me. Now give me the riddle and I can be on my way."

"Oh, why don't you just take the stick out of your ass? I mean you can't just be blasé all the time. All work and no play tend to make a _very _dull boy."

"Well remember that dull boy _bites." _

"Alright," Sakura said while rolling her eyes. She couldn't help but admit that Itachi was turning out to be very amusing. "Anyways, the riddle is: _It is as corny as you."_

Itachi stared at her for a moment. The only thing going through his head was that the riddle could have implied that she thought he was corny.

"Well Uchiha, I have to go. Feel free to not find me until you our next meeting!" Sakura said giving him one last look, and a wink, before walking off into a direction of no importance to her.

* * *

Itachi was currently at his brothers' house for lunch, and during that lunch continued to go over the riddle in his head. For some reason the riddle seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't think of where he heard it.

"Hey weasel what's got your head all worked up?" Naruto asked his older brother.

Itachi didn't say anything. In fact he didn't really hear his youngest brother.

"Aniki," Sasuke called out, and he too received no response.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. Their eyes met in a silent conversation. Naruto was the first to break the connection. Without a moment's hesitation food collided with Itachi's head.

Being drawn out of his thoughts, Itachi glared at his brothers. "Naruto," He growled.

"Aw, weasel why do you always assume that I do it?"

"Because you idiot, I do not eat ramen." Sasuke replied, he was trying his hardest to not laugh. But how could you not? Itachi's eye was twitching and ramen was in his hair.

"Well now that we have your attention. What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked.

"Is it the same person giving the Akatsuki problems?" Sasuke asked. He received an affirmative nod.

"Well what do you have to do?" Naruto asked.

"Guess her name." Itachi waited for their reaction. Within minutes he got the response he knew he would receive. Laughter.

"That's it?" Sasuke asked attempting to hold his laughter.

"That is it. 5,000 female names, not including unisex names, and only _one_ guess," Itachi responded.

"Oh," Their laughter halted abruptly. That was close to a one in a million chance of getting it right.

"Well what do you have to do to figure out her name, Aniki?" Sasuke questioned.

"She gives me riddles every day. Her rules are pretty direct. No help, no use of resources such as the government or hospital database, no use of other people, anything that could aid in the attempt that doesn't come directly from our own person." Itachi responded.

"Damn she thought of everything didn't she?" Naruto whistled out. "This woman must be a genius."

"So what did she do to make _you_ do this?" Sasuke questioned. He was agreeing with Naruto, but Itachi wouldn't be following the stupid woman's rules without something preventing him.

"She poisoned me." Itachi gritted out. It was hard to admit this, and if it was anyone other than his brothers he would have never admitted it.

"She did what?" The two boys hissed out. They couldn't believe someone was stupid enough to attempt to kill their brother. Everyone in this town knew those three were damn protective of each other and if someone hurt one of them, the other two would _kill_ the person responsible. So who was daring enough?

"What does she look like, we will kill her." Naruto and Sasuke growled out in unison.

"That wouldn't really help my predicament now would it?" Itachi told his younger brothers. He appreciated their care, but he knew he could handle this himself as well.

"What does she look like, maybe we could help you?" Naruto suggested.

"Naruto, no." Itachi's voice was sharp and to the point. He would not allow them to intervene into this unless she involved them.

"Well can you at least tell us what she looks like? We won't tell you who she is or anything." Naruto begged.

Itachi was adamant on not telling them though. "I said no, and I mean no."

"Well tell us what the riddle is! We won't tell you the answer if we know it, but maybe we can help you think about it?" Naruto suggested.

"Aniki, Naruto isn't going to give up. Just tell us the riddle." Sasuke responded.

"She said the riddle is '_It is as corny as you'_." Itachi responded.

"And did you come up with the answer?" Sasuke questioned. Itachi shook his head no.

"How could not have? It is an easy riddle! It really is!" Naruto responded.

"The dobe is right Aniki. It's a riddle we've all solved as little kids. But 'you' wasn't in the riddle." Sasuke was phrasing his word carefully so that he didn't give the answer away.

"It was the answer…" Itachi muttered more to himself than to others. Sasuke and Naruto nodded. Itachi knew the answer now.

'_If it is as corny as you, it would be I.' _Itachi thought. He made a mental note to write down the answer once he got back to his room.

"So what riddle is this?" Naruto asked.

"Third." Itachi responded.

"Out of how many?" Sasuke asked. He received a shrug from Itachi.

"SASUKE! NARUTO!" A feminine voice yelled out. The boys' front door slamming shut behind her echoing voice.

Naruto was the first to jump out of his chair and run towards the voice. The two other Uchihas followed.

Sakura noticed Itachi before he noticed her. But when Itachi saw her, their eyes clashed. He was surprised that she _knew_ his brothers on a personal level.

"YOU'RE HERE! YOU'RE FINALLY HERE-" Sakura slammed her hand on Naruto's mouth instantly preventing him from saying her name.

Sasuke looked at her in surprise. When Sakura turned her gaze away from Itachi, she gave Sasuke a pleading gaze.

"To my room, _now!_" Sasuke growled out harshly. "And bring the dobe with you. Aniki, why don't you go home. We'll catch up with you later." Sasuke walked out of the room, followed by the pink-haired wench dragging Naruto along with her. Itachi left silently. He was curious to know what would happen to the pinkette.

* * *

Itachi was at his home, the Akatsuki base. Itachi wrote down the answer to the current riddle. He currently had three.

_Remember, Wind, and I._

He had no clue how any of this would tell him her name, but he could only assume (and hope) that she had a plan. Otherwise he would be screwed.

A knock sounded at his door. "Come in," He said. When the door opened, he looked at who walked in. There was three of them: Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara.

"So did you get the antidote from her?" Sasori asked.

Itachi nodded and threw him the now empty blue vile. Sasori looked at Itachi, asking where it was.

"I drank the portion she gave me." Sasori nodded his head at what Itachi told him.

"So did you solve the riddle?" Deidara asked.

Itachi nodded. But he really didn't want to talk about right now. Kisame, picking up the hint decided to change the topic.

"How was lunch with your brothers?" The blue haired man questioned.

"It was fine until the girl showed up." Itachi responded.

"Oh that's good, wait what?" Kisame yelled. Sasori and Deidara looked at Itachi in surprise.

"Your brothers know her?" Deidara asked in shock. Sasori was next to the blonde with his mouth almost a gape. That was a hard thing to accomplish with the stoic puppeteer.

"Did you hear her name?" Kisame asked, his voice a little hopeful.

Itachi shook his head. "She prevented that."

"Well maybe your brothers will take care of her for us." Deidara suggested.

Kisame laughed. "That is unlikely, Dei. If she walked into their house, then she knows them personally."

"Well things just got interesting." Sasori said. Everyone had to agree that it did.

* * *

"That was you in our yard last night wasn't it." Sasuke asked her as soon as he shut the door to his room.

Sakura nodded her head feebly. She knew Sasuke was mad at her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing trying to kill our brother, Sakura?" Sasuke growled out in a low whisper.

"He was the one the group elected to participate in my game. It is not my fault your brother didn't have the balls to decline." Sakura replied just as angrily. She couldn't help herself. She knew Sasuke had every right to be mad at her, but she never responded well to negativity against her.

"So you poison him? Sakura, you signed your death warrant. We can't protect you. You _know_ we will side with our family over anyone, even you. So why do this?"

"Sasuke think real hard. You know the answer to that; you know it better than anyone." Sakura told him quietly.

Sasuke thought for a moment, but he couldn't come up with a single answer. "I can't, Sakura. I don't know why you would be this stupid!"

"Family, Uchiha. That is why. You're family promotes family relations. But you are all hypocrites. Your family created the Akatsuki, and the Akatsuki destroyed what was once a _good_ family town. I love you and Naruto, but I cannot stand you're family because of the _shit_ they have done to our home."

"That does not explain why you are willing to kill yourself over this!" Sasuke growled out harshly. He loved Sakura to death, she was like his sister and he would support anything she wanted to do. But he was not happy with her choice right now. He refused to loser her.

"Because I am tired of waking up at night screaming and reliving my parents death. I am tired of not doing anything to stop your idiotic relatives. And if that means I have to hurt one of them in the process I will. I had no direct intention of it, there was a lot of Akatsuki members that could have played my game; they just chose Itachi."

Sasuke didn't like her decision at all, but she did understand why she was doing this. He could remember her waking him up by tapping on his window, eyes swollen and red from crying all because she couldn't get back to sleep.

Naruto or him—sometimes both—would have to sneak out of their house to sooth her enough so she could sleep and sneak back before sunrise. He also knew how much those nightmares could rile her up to the point of insanity.

He remembered it clearly. She was practically a zombie siren when those nightmares pushed her to her brink—dead but alluring in her warped sanity. She could make even the most stubborn people quake when she was that far gone. But the important question now would be, is she in that warped reality right now?

"Sakura," Sasuke whispered softly.

"Uchiha, don't. Do not make me choose between this and you two. I will destroy you along with that organization if I have to." Her soft voice was shaky and unsure.

"When was the last time you slept, Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"That doesn't matter. Why don't you just forget this conversation happened?" Sakura murmured. That one response gave Sasuke the answer he needed.

"You can come to me if you need something, you know that right?" Sasuke asked her. His previous anger gone, he wrapped his arm around her gently. "I won't tell Itachi your name, but please do not kill my brother or you will suffer consequences."

Sakura nodded and leaned her head against Sasuke's shoulder. Her eyes were barely able to stay open any longer.

Naruto, who had been quiet the whole time, attempting to keep up with the conversation, finally spoke. "Sakura is the one doing that to Itachi?"

* * *

**Tell me what you think. Honestly I don't think this is the best chapter, but I you all deserved an update and I tried to deliver one. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**-Kori  
**


	5. Full of Mystery

**Here is the next chapter of Rumor. As most authors on here, I don't own Naruto or its Characters just the plot and Idea of this fanfiction. So far this is the longest chapter of this tale :)**

**Word count: 4, 801**

* * *

Rumor: Chapter Four

* * *

"Who is she?" Deidara asked the young raven haired brother.

Sasuke looked at the blonde Akatsuki member, studying him. He knew the blonde was stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer. But he wasn't in the mood for disclosing that information.

"Even if I told you her name—which I won't—what would you do with that information? You _can't_ tell him, it's against the rules." Sasuke told him.

"So you are turning against your brother. You are siding with this…this childish and foolish girl?" Deidara accused. He couldn't believe it. Out of all the people he knew, he would have bet Sasuke would be the first to help Itachi. He was proven wrong.

Sasuke's onyx eyes narrowed. "Listen here you brat, my brother's life is important to me and so long as he follows her rules he is safe. But take in mind if you find out her name and tell him, it will be _your_ bloodshed. Not Aniki's, and that goes for anyone in your group."

Deidara was taken by surprise by the sudden harshness in the younger Uchiha's tone. Maybe he shouldn't have gone so far as to question Sasuke's loyalty to Itachi.

"Hey teme," Naruto called out from another room. "I need some money to go get Ramen, could I borrow some?" The eager blonde walked into the room and quickly noticed the tension. "Should I come back later?"

"No, but he can leave." Sasuke bit out harshly.

Deidara knew when it was time for him to step down. "Alright," He waved his hands in submission. Bidding them good bye, the explosive bomber left the brothers' apartment.

"So what was that about?" Naruto asked.

"It was nothing, Dobe. Now what did you want money for?" The onyx eyed male questioned.

"So you are actually going to give it to me?" Naruto asked happily.

"No."

"Aw, Teme! Why would you tease me like that?"

"Hn."

* * *

Deidara got back to the place he and his friends called home. He was greeted by Kisame and Sasori.

"How did it go?" Sasori questioned.

"How did what go?" Kisame, unaware of why the blonde left, asked.

"I went to see Sasuke and try to, you know, get the name of the girl out of it." The bomber responded.

"Well how did that work out for you?" the 6'0 man asked. He was curious.

"Not well, and if it wasn't for the younger one, I probably would have received a broken arm or worse." Deidara responded.

"Well, what did you do to piss him off?" Sasori asked. He now seemed interested in the conversation.

"He knows her name, and he told me that he wouldn't tell me. I said that he was betraying his brother." Deidara received a few sucked in breaths.

"Not a smart move, dude. Not a smart move at all." Kisame told him. Sasori nodded his head in agreement. The red head spoke.

"There is nothing worse you could do to an Uchiha than question their loyalty."

"Yeah I learned that." Deidara grumbled. He looked around the room for a second and a question came to him. "Where is Itachi anyway?" He asked.

"Well apparently the little vixen knows where we live; she sent a note to him and told him that she wanted to meet up with him at this one place. He's there now." Kisame responded to his blonde friend.

"Do you know when he will be back?" Deidara asked, and received a no.

* * *

Itachi walked to the place he was suppose to meet the pink haired vixen at. It was midday, and he was inquisitive to know why she chose this time period suddenly. She grew more interesting every time he saw her. She attracted his curiosity far more than anyone has before. And with that curiosity brought out, he needed to assuage it.

He got to the little run down building which she wanted to meet him at. It was old, but apparently a restaurant still feverishly serving customers. He walked in and was immediately greeted by a female host.

"Hello sir, do you have a reservation?" She asked, smiling.

"I'm meeting someone." He responded.

"Alright, you may sit down if you want until your friend arrives." She told him politely. He had to prevent a snort when she uttered the word friend.

"No need to," A female voice said. "I am already here." She was behind the hostess.

"Okay then, well how about you follow her then," The woman said before she went off to—probably—talk with one of her co-workers.

"So you are finally on time?" Itachi spoke as he started walking with her to her table.

"I was late once, Uchiha." She told him. They made no more small talk as they walked to the table.

She stopped at a table that had two glasses and sat down. "Take a seat." She told him.

Itachi wasn't one to take orders, especially from a woman who had yet to prove anything besides the fact that she was rather intelligent. But he decided to give in for once, just to see what she wanted. Taking a seat he told her, "I suggest you don't boss around those who have a strong desire to see you dead."

"You want to see me dead?" Sakura asked; she held back her surprise.

"Why wouldn't I? You poisoned me." Itachi told her.

"I never thought Uchihas' had the ability to hold that much resentment towards a person." She responded.

They were quiet for a few minutes. Within that time frame, a waiter came with their food. Itachi's eyes widened with surprise.

"I am going to assume you like onigiri?" Sakura asked him. The look on his face, she was right. "Before you ask, I guessed. Sasuke likes it so I figured you might too." He nodded in understanding.

"Dig in," She told him. She followed her own advice and began to eat her food, sushi.

"So why did you want to meet me here?" Itachi asked. "You already met me yesterday with the antidote. Why meet again?" Itachi took a bite of his food. He was cautious at first, curious to know if she poisoned it. But as he saw the waiter bring it, he threw that idea out of the window. The onigiri was good.

"I'll be honest; I want to know if you have my necklace." She told him. Within that moment, he saw a woman; A fragile, desperate woman. Not the woman who was a wrecking havoc on his life. But it was only for a moment. Her cool calculating appearance was back on within moments.

"What if I do?" He asked.

"I want it back." She responded quickly. Her voice was icy and demanding. She wouldn't accept no for an answer.

"And if I don't want to give it back?" Itachi asked, with a smirk on his elegant lips.

"Why the hell wouldn't you? That necklace has no value to you!"

"But it obviously has value to you. Now tell me, why would I give up something that would benefit me?" Itachi questioned.

Sakura looked at him. He was right. Any smart person would not give their enemy something that person was frantic to obtain. Not willingly at least. But she was desperate. She needed that necklace, needed it like water. It was everything to her.

"It is a family heirloom, nothing more. It has no significance towards you. Just give it back to me." She told him.

"I will not." Itachi told her. His tone was final.

Sakura grumbled, but she accepted his answer. For now, until she could come up with a plan to retrieve it herself.

"Then may I ask you some questions?" Sakura asked.

"You may, but I won't promise to answer them." Itachi stated. He wanted to know what her questions were; maybe they could tell him how her mind worked.

"Why did your group bargain with me? I didn't poison you until after I made the deal and your men had accepted." She asked.

It was a good question. A very good one, one he wasn't certain the answers too. He told his family it was to maintain the peace at Pein's orders, but he wasn't sure if that was the whole truth.

"The main reason was to not cause a scene." He told her.

Sakura burst out laughing. She couldn't contain it, it was too funny. The Akatsuki not wanting to cause a scene, that was absurd. Itachi looked at the woman who was laughing; he didn't see what was so funny about what he said. Within minutes, Sakura regained her composure.

"You wanted to prevent a scene, how did taking my deal solve that?" Sakura questioned.

"If we killed you instantly, there would be talk around the village. That talk could have created a rebellion that we would rather not deal with right now." Itachi replied smoothly.

Sakura didn't see how that would stir up some problems. The town knew of her rebellious and often obnoxious tendencies. Hell they had a bet on when she would die because of her "stupidity" as they called it. But she wouldn't tell them that. She wanted to live, despite her actions.

"I guess that makes sense, but why do I have a feeling that isn't the only reason?" She asked.

"How many people do you know that will stand up to us? Especially one as young as yourself." Itachi questioned.

He eyed the young woman before him. She had a fiery temper but was quick witted. She knew how to take care of herself, when most people her age where just learning how. She had her guard up. The woman wasn't as foolish as he first thought her to be.

"I am not as young as you think!" Sakura snapped. He smirked at how she contradicted herself from yesterday's meeting.

"So you are contradicting yourself now? If I recall, yesterday you claimed you could have very well be ten."

"And you told me that my body doesn't lie so I could very well not be ten." Sakura argued back. "So I can't be that young."

"You are to most of the organization, but for you to know my brothers you would have to be their age at least. Speaking of my brothers, why didn't you mention that you knew my brothers." He was assuming she was the age of his two brothers, eighteen.

"Why wouldI _willingly_ give up information that was of use to me?" She shot back.

"That is a good point, but if you knew my brothers, then you must have known my family and I."

"I do know your brothers, and I knew _of_ you and your other family members. But that is all, I haven't met any of your family members and nor am I on a personal level with any of them."

"Whether you are or not makes no difference to me, however if you harm them I will make sure you will die." Itachi's voice was etched with venom. Sakura found it hard to believe that the man before her, the one with so much ire and protection in his tone, could be the same stone cold man as before.

"I will make myself clear, Uchiha. I do not want to harm your family. I had only the intentions to harm one person, and I didn't care who that was. It was sheer chance that it happened to be you who happen to be playing my game. It could have been anyone, but it was you. I didn't purposefully go up to you and say: "I'm going to poison you and force you to guess my name. But it's not as easy as it sounds, you only get one guess. Your friends picked you to play the game. So my only target will be you."

With that said, she continued to eat her food.

Itachi took in her words and nodded. "Fair enough." He told her. She made sense and so long as she wasn't planning to hurt his family to smite him, he was alright with putting up with the crap she was pulling.

"So who would have thought the mighty Uchiha was a family man." She joked. She wanted to ease her growing tension. She wanted her necklace, but she hadn't yet formed a good plan just yet.

"Uchiha's are always family oriented." Itachi said.

"That could have fooled me, especially with the Akatsuki being their 'baby'." Sakura practically growled out.

"Do you have a personal grudge with the organization, woman?" Itachi questioned. It would explain her behavior, but it was futile really. But what she was doing wasn't in her favor. He would find out her name and she would die.

"Yes actually. I do. I have a deep-seated resentment towards that fucking organization and see no reason as to why it has thrived so long." The ire in her voice was so strong, it was practically suffocating.

"Well too bad." The Uchiha told her, "Do you have the riddle for me?"

"You are just like your brother, a workaholic." Sakura said. It sounded—to him—like she was chiding him. But she gave him the riddle anyway.

He wanted for her to leave, but she didn't. He stared at her for a few minutes, silently demanding that she leaves him alone.

"Leave." He said.

"Why should I? I paid for your lunch." She told him. Her plate was empty and pushed to the side.

"You do not stay when I receive the riddle."

Sakura responded instantly. "You do not usually see me when you receive the riddles." Sakura responded.

Itachi grumbled quietly, but relented. He opened up the small envelope he received from her. The riddle was different. There was written below it.

_We always want, and always try. Why work so hard to only die? The answer is simple; believe me, it is right before your eyes; to try is nothing, but maybe you can..._

"No insult?" Itachi asked her.

It took Sakura a moment to process what he was asking. "Well I figured I could do that in person." She flashed him a smile.

"Ah," Itachi said. "I'm pretty sure you did that enough."

"I haven't even insulted you!" Sakura said exasperatedly.

"Hn."

"Uchihas and that word, I swear you would have an affair with it if you could! It isn't in the dictionary, how has it managed to become a common word between your people? Not only is it common, but annoying as hell!" Sakura gripped.

Itachi's lips twitched in amusement. The girl was funny. She had a way of making things seem amusing.

"Anyway, when you figure out the riddle, you need to think beyond it. Not what is present, but what is before. The past is an amazing thing, full of mystery too." Sakura told him. She placed money on the table. "I will see you around Uchiha!" She flashed him a coy smile before leaving.

That woman was insane.

He looked at the money she left on the table, and for some reason, he picked it up and replaced it with his own.

"I might as well visit Sasuke and Naruto." Itachi walked out of the restaurant and towards his younger brothers' house. He didn't know what caused him to replace her money with his own, but he did it. His hand fumbled with the necklace that resided in his pocket on his way there.

* * *

"Aniki," Sasuke answered the door. He was still upset about earlier, and his vehement was clearly shown.

"Had a bad day?" Itachi questioned. Sasuke nodded at his older brother.

"Hey teme, whose at the door?" Naruto questioned, popping his head out of the door frame that lead to the kitchen.

"Itachi is," Sasuke responded. He allowed Itachi to enter his house. Itachi took a seat on the couch, and Itachi followed.

"Are you going to ask too?" Naruto said, walking towards the two. "If you are, you might want to rethink that. Sasuke is still pissed off about the earlier."

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Itachi questioned.

"Your friend Deidara came over this morning." Sasuke growled out. His anger was flowing off him.

"What did the idiot do now?" Itachi asked tiredly.

"He asked Sasuke about the girl. About her name," Naruto told him.

"And that infuriated you?" Itachi asked. His gaze focused on his brother. He was surprised, and expected more of Sasuke. He shouldn't have let that affect him.

"No," Sasuke snarled. "You're my brother and are very important to me."

Itachi didn't see what that had to do with anything. But he assumed it had something to do with what Deidara said to his brother. He turned to Naruto for an answer.

"Deidara accused Sasuke of fraternizing with her and claimed that he was betraying you. Teme almost lost his cool. If I didn't come right then asking for some money, the Akatsuki might have lost a member. Speaking of money, Teme I still need the money." Naruto suggested. He wanted his ramen badly.

"No dobe, I am not giving you money to go by Ramen. What happened to your pay check?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Well I," he paused "I spent it on the ramen."

Sasuke let out a sigh, and turned towards his brother "So why are you here, Aniki?"

"I had lunch with your pink haired friend." Itachi said. He noticed how both his brothers' eyes widened.

"Really? And you are unscathed?" Naruto seemed surprised. He knew Itachi was able to handle himself pretty well, but Sakura was very short tempered and didn't usually act civilized towards people she disliked. And when it came to boundries, sometimes she didn't have them. It depended on what she was fighting for.

"She's a big girl, Naruto. She can behave perfectly fine." Itachi said.

Sasuke shot him a look. "Itachi, you two are a lot alike. Especially in the aspect that neither of you respond well to negativity. So how did the two of you, from what I know dislike each other, behave in a municipal manner?"

Itachi shrugged. "I'm not sure, but we did."

"Why did she ask you out to lunch?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing for am moment. "You two aren't…you know…" Itachi looked at his blonde brother in amusement.

"Yes Dobe, because a relationship can form between two people who barely see each other, are at each other's neck every time they do, and with a deep seated hatred for one another." Sasuke responded dryly.

"Well you never know," Naruto responded. "Itachi is her type."

Sasuke snorted. "Aniki is her type when hell freezes over _and_ you give up ramen forever."

"First off, I would never give up ramen!" Naruto stated.

"And Aniki isn't her type," Sasuke reinforced.

"But, I know her better. Itachi is like her male perfection personified!"

The two—blood—Uchiha brothers stared at Naruto. His use of big, cheesy romance novel, words shocked them. It was also highly awkward for Itachi. But the prideful male did not voice his opinion on the subject.

"And how do you know that, Dobe?" Sasuke questioned.

"First when I was dating Hinata, hinata and her would discuss the books they were reading—the romance novels. Secondly, unlike you, she allowed me to meet her boyfriends. Now that I think about it, all of them had at least some resemblance to Itachi."

"They never met, Dobe. How could they resemble Itachi? You are probably over exaggerating it, Naruto. She dislikes Aniki, and a lot of the guys try to act or appear like Itachi, girls want him. What guy wouldn't try to mimic the appearance of the man women go after?" Sasuke told his idiotic, ramen loving brother.

"Good point, but I still think they would be a good couple." Naruto said.

"They fight too much to be a 'good couple', Dobe."

"Nothing sex wouldn't fix!" Naruto said, flashing them a grin.

The two, blood, Uchihas stared at their brother in pure shock. They couldn't believe he just said that.

"What good would that do, dobe? She hates him and he isn't so fawned of her himself. They are too alike to even promote feelings of mutual interest for one another. Sex would only give them the opportunity to kill one another." Sasuke explained to his brother.

Naruto sweat dropped. "I get it, they don't like each other. You didn't have to obscure it with well-groomed words intended to belittle my naturally small vocabulary!"

Itachi couldn't help it. He laughed. His brothers were amusing. They contradicted themselves continuously and usually unaware of the action. And they way the constantly fought each other was delightful and refreshing.

"Did you even hear what you said, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He too caught what Naruto said.

"Why would I say it, not knowing what it meant?" Naruto argued.

"Because it is something you would do." Sasuke stated rather bluntly.

"True…" Naruto admitted in a small defeat. "So why did you guys meet up?"

"She wanted her necklace back." Itachi responded immediately.

"You have her necklace?" The blonde asked flabbergasted. He turned to Sasuke, who was equally shocked. Both boys knew what that necklace meant to her, they knew the origin of the necklace, and they knew the fights it could cause with the boyfriends, friends, or anyone she loved.

What woman would allow a necklace to come between her boyfriend and her? Only Sakura. Because that necklace is only important to her, it is her life, her world. That necklace is the only thing her parents ever gave her. She never took it off, not when her boyfriends bought her a new necklace, or when she was in the hospital. The boys weren't sure if even death would take that necklace from her. It was too dear.

"Then how did you manage to keep the meeting pleasant?" Sasuke asked in pure shock, with a hint of horror mixed it.

"I told her I wouldn't give it to her, besides her attempts to convince me otherwise. She seems hell bent on getting it. From what I can see, she isn't finished with convincing me."

"There is no more convincing, Itachi. Once you refuse her the first time. There isn't another offer, she _will_ take it. No words will be spoken again." Naruto told him.

"Then this has become even more amusing." Itachi said.

Naruto looked at Itachi as if he were an alien. "You are just weird."

"No, he just becomes more like her with each word he says. I'm beginning to think you are right, Dobe. They would be a good couple. But I doubt they would actually end up together" Sasuke said, shaking his head. Naruto nodded in agree ment.

Itachi shrugged while Naruto laughed. He had no comment to that, hell he didn't even see the resemblance his brothers did.

Itachi continued to talk to his brothers for a few hours. He enjoyed the company they gave.

"Sasuke," Itachi said when it was time to leave.

"Hn?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head.

"Give this back to your friend." He placed it in Sasuke's hand and left their house feeling relaxed.

Sasuke stared at the object in his hand. At first he was shocked that Itachi was going to give him the necklace to give it to Sakura. But when he looked in his hand he saw it was money.

"Ramen money!" Naruto cheered.

"No Dobe, Sakura's money. The money she paid their lunch with…"

* * *

Itachi stared at the riddle for a long time. It wasn't the riddle that confused him, but what she told him about it.

_Not what is present, but what is after. The future is an amazing thing._

That could mean a lot of things. But maybe it has something to do with what follows the ellipse. The riddle was worse than the previous ones because it wasn't finished. How is it a riddle if you have to guess the ending of it?

He looked at it once more. "We always want, and always try. Why work so hard to only die? The answer is simple; believe me, it is right before your eyes; to try is nothing, but maybe you can..."

"Who wrote that?" A male voice asked. Itachi turned towards the door of his room and saw a male with orange hair leaning across it.

"Pein." Itachi acknowledged. Most called him Leader-sama, and they all did while out in public. But behind doors, he was no more than Pein to Itachi. The Uchiha held a lot of respect for the elder man, more than he held for most of the organizations members. His respect however didn't mean Itachi would call the man 'Leader'. Pein wasn't below him, but he wasn't above him either.

"You didn't answer my question, Itachi." Pein told him.

"Do you know why I have been going out often lately?" Itachi asked. He didn't know if Pein knew of the little tyrant that has been annoying him as of late.

"The pink haired woman?" He asked. Itachi gave him a brief glimpse of surprise. "Despite what Deidara thinks, nothing gets past me."

"He was talking about it loudly around the base wasn't he?" Itachi asked.

Pein nodded, letting out a slight chuckle in the process. "I'm glad you didn't kill her beforehand. So I'm assuming that was the task she gave you, to decipher riddles she rights? For what purpose?"

"To determine her name," Itachi said. "However there is only one try."

Pein nodded in understanding. That was a hard task to achieve. "She sounds smart. Maybe you have finally found someone to rival with?" He suggested.

Itachi let out a small snort. "She's just an obstacle in the way."

"Don't become too narcissistic. Remember it fogs up your reasoning." Pein stated. He turned and walked out, leaving Itachi to finish his 'mission'.

Hours later, Itachi was still trying to think of the riddle. None of it made sense. "The stupid woman should have finished the damn riddle." Itachi grumbled.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes; the tired feeling began to wash over him. But as the minutes dragged on, sleep was starting to win. Maybe just a few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

"_Itachi-kun," a female voice echoed in his ear._

"_Hn?" he asked groggily._

"_Itachi-kun, wake up." The voice got closer and he realized it sounded familiar._

"_What is it?" He asked irritably. He opened his eyes and noticed that it was his pregnant mother. "Yes kaa-san?" _

"_We have a guest, get up and go meet him. It will help your father out at work. Fugaku and he are close at work and he says that he likes children." His mother left shortly after that. And he found himself dressed and downstairs within minutes._

"_Hello," Itachi told the older gentlemen._

"_Well hello, squirt!" He responded cheerfully. "What's your name?"_

"_My name is Itachi."_

"_It's a pleasure to meet you, Itachi. My name is Lycon."_

_Lycon chatted with Itachi for a few minutes, before turning the subject on business and directed it to Fugaku. Itachi didn't understand what was going on in the discussion. He never paid attention to his father's business. Six year olds didn't have to associate with that stuff, he often told himself._

_But an hour after the man's arrival, things started to get heated. Their guest began to yell, and he guessed that his father and the man were arguing now._

"_I don't care what you think, Fugaku. I know you have been trying, but trying will get you _nowhere._ Be a man and do something about it! That is the only way you will be able to succeed!"_

* * *

Itachi snapped out of his reverie. He really needs to stop having those. Those only happen in stories and never in real life. But he shouldn't really be complaining. Each one he has had helped him solve the riddle. And maybe this one did too.

What the man said struck him. Maybe that was the end of the riddle.

"To try is nothing, but maybe you can..." Itachi said aloud.

Maybe the answer was 'do'? But that doesn't help with what she told him about thinking of the present.

'Do' could change into many things: do, doing, did.

Then it struck him. She was talking about tenses. Ignore present tense, look at past. The past tense of Do, was did.

"To try is nothing, but maybe you could do something." Itachi said quietly. It was similar to what the man said. Could that be what was driving the woman? The belief that she need to do this task? She was becoming more of an enthralling mystery as the days dragged on.

Four down, and who knows how many to go.

* * *

**There was the chapter! I hope you enjoyed this! Please tell me what you think of this chapter.**


	6. Void Eyes

**Here is your Update! Sorry I had writer's block. And of course I do not own the series or any character of Naruto. Just the Plot.**

* * *

Rumor: Chapter 5

* * *

Voices echoed and music was bouncing off the walls. Bodies were swing from left to right, grinding against each others as they following the beat. The air smelled of alcohol and sweat. Sakura watched the people dance. She wanted to let her body sway with the music and have a good time. But, she was working. The only perk was that she could consume some of the booze. And in here, the booze was her best friend. It helped her put up with some things she would have not without its help.

"Well, well, if it isn't the pink menace." A male voice said.

Sakura looked up at the male voice. "Ah! Sasuke-kun, that's not nice." She looked at the male in front of her. Why would he be in a place like this? "What brought you to this little place of mine?" Sakura asked.

"What do you think?" He questioned.

"Naruto?" Her viridian sparkled with just a bit of amusement.

Sasuke nodded his head. "I swear he can make you do anything, Sasuke! Where is he right now?"

Sasuke shot her a glare. "Dancing, now how about you do your job and get me a drink?"

"Boy, you better watch yourself. I have a weapon behind this bar and I am not afraid to use it." Sasuke laughed at Sakura's threat, knowing that she wouldn't really hurt him unless he pissed her off too much. But he was smart enough not to.

"Ah, is my little cousin causing a stir with the pretty bar maid?" Another male voice sounded behind Sasuke.

Sakura looked at the man that made his way to her corner. He was tall, almost Itachi's height. However, the new person resembled Sasuke more than Itachi. His eyes were softer than the two brothers' though. More like Naruto's, only a darker shade of blue. His appearance screamed 'Uchiha'. The Dark navy hair color, the semi-onyx eyes, the red and white fan on the shirt also helped, but even without it a person could tell.

"What is with you Uchihas?" Sakura groaned.

Shisui's ears perked up. "You know of my wonderful family? Ya know I can get you in there if you want." He flashed Sakura a smile and winked.

"I wouldn't want to be in your family even if it would save my own soul." Sakura flashed him a cheeky grin. "Now are you going to order something or do I need to convince you to leave, say with a weapon?"

Shisui looked at her in surprise. "Aw, you wouldn't use your…bat? On a paying customer would you?"

"Try golf club, and yes I would. I can easily say you were harassing me." Sakura said, her hand gripping the golf club hidden below the bar.

"Shisui, she isn't joking." Sasuke stated.

Shisui sighed in defeat, "Can I at least get the pretty lady's name?"

"No." Sakura said.

"Aw, why not?" Shisui pouted.

"Because you are a liability. Itachi can get anything out of you." Sasuke replied.

"She knows Itachi?" Shisui asked. Surprise was clearly evident in his tone.

"I'm meeting Uchihas left and right." Sakura murmured haughtily. "Now order something or leave."

Shisui frowned at her before he turned his attention to Sasuke. "I actually came to talk to you. I heard from your mother that Itachi is having….problems in the Akatsuki. He's not telling me, so I figured you would be kind enough to shed some light?"

"You couldn't annoy it out of him?" Sasuke mused. Shisui normally was really good at weaseling facts out of his older brother. So why couldn't he get any information on this?

"Well I tried but," Shisui said

"Hey! I'm here you know! Now care to take your 'Itachi talk' somewhere else?" Sakura growled.

"Itachi talk?" Shisui looked at Sasuke, "what did Itachi do to her? Piss in her cheerios?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed, "Shisui is your name?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes," Shisui replied, hesitantly.

"May I ask why you come here? Dancing, booze, women…?" The rosette continued to question.

"Well," Shisui thought for a moment "I'd say the alcohol and women."

"S—why are you questioning my cousin?" Sasuke was so close to ruining Sakura's 'game' as she put it. Luckily he caught himself before it was too late.

"No reason," Sakura's voice had a forced politeness to it. Her viridian eyes glared at her best friend. Quickly she turned her attention to Shisui and her glare softened and her forced politeness gone. "Let's set you up then for your next visit, shall we?"

"What do you mean 'set me up?'?" Shisui asked narrowing his onyx eyes.

"We give you an ID that allows you access into the VIP section for a limited time each visit and during that time you get free alcohol. The way I see it, free alcohol and VIP access gives you a more variety of women and you won't pester me at my bar. It's a win-win don't you think?" Sakura told him.

Shisui seemed to ponder it for a moment before agreeing. "Alright."

"Great! I will call someone over and she will set you right up!" Sakura grinned, and went to her phone. Within minutes a woman came up, chatted with Sakura and lead Shisui off into another room.

Sasuke looked at Sakura, "What did you really do?"

Sakura feigned a look of shock, "What do you mean Sasuke-kun?"

Shooting her a look the male said, "I'm not as stupid as he is."

"Fine," She sighed "I cut off his booze. We don't have a VIP section, just the minor's area. I gave him the 'Underage' card."

"There is no response to that." Sasuke said, shaking his head.

Sakura laughed lightly. "Don't worry; it only lasts six months."

"That's six months of him pestering me!" Sasuke growled out.

"Or your brother," Sakura pointed out. "But you know it's not becoming of you to start _whining_."

"Shut up, and get me that drink I wanted." Sasuke grumbled, earning him a slap and a couple of shots.

* * *

"I am going to kill her!" Shisui roared out. He paced back and forth in front of his young cousin gang of friends.

"Must you be so loud?" Sasori questioned.

"She took my alcohol away! How can anyone be quite about it?"

"Who are you raging about, Shisui?" Itachi asked, leaning against the door frame.

"That pink haired witch!" Shisui growled out, his fist were balled up and stark white.

"Pink hair?" Kisame asked. Shisui nodded.

"Viridian eyes?" Deidara questioned. Shisui nodded again.

"About five-three?" Sasori asked.

Shisui nodded again. "Do you know her? Did you make her do this? I will kill you if you did!"

"Hardly," Deidara scoffed. "She's problematic for us."

"Wait…she is…she's the one pestering Itachi?" Shisui's cheeks puffed out as he tried to hold in the laughter.

"She's not as innocent as she looks dude." Kisame spoke up, defending Itachi.

"Yeah I know…the sneaky witch swiped my alcohol from under me. So what is she making you do?" Shisui questioned.

"Guess her name," Itachi responded. He cut his older cousin off before he laughed, "But there is only one shot, and someone" he glared at his group of friends "accepted her deal; and if we lose the Akatsuki has to leave this town. So she's giving us riddles to figure it out."

Shisui's eyes widen in surprise, "Well she is pretty sly. Probably worked the innocent angle since she was a kid."

The red and blonde headed males nodded.

"Well Sasuke's friends with her, did you try to weasel it out of him?" Shisui questioned.

"Yeah Sasuke and Naruto," Itachi stated.

"Do you have a clue as to what it is?" Shisui questioned.

Itachi shook his head. "Need all the riddles."

"Well I can help you out with the first letter." Shisui wiggled his eyebrows.

"No." Itachi stated flatly.

"Why not?" Shisui questioned.

"It's against the rules," Itachi stated.

Shisui's eyes widened. "She gave you rules?" He was shocked, but he held a little respect for the she devil now. Not many people could make Itachi follow rules. He liked to change them, change them enough to benefit him. "How did she make you follow them?"

"Poisoned." Sasori stated, earning a grunt from Itachi.

"And you couldn't treat it? I thought you knew poisons?" The elder Uchiha stated.

"Seems like she does too." Sasori said. He held a slight bitter tone to her voice.

"So why were you stupid enough to get poisoned in the first place?" Shisui questioned.

"Shisui," Itachi growled warningly.

"So when do you get your next riddle?" Shisui asked. He decided to relent on his teasing of his poor baby cousin. He figured his ego must be bruised enough as it is.

"Today," Itachi responded.

"Well let's go get her!" Shisui exclaimed.

"Wait, you know where she is?" Deidara asked.

"No, I just decided to rant to my cousin about a girl I never saw in the last hour." Shisui growled out harshly. He and the blonde never did get along very well. They always got on each other's nerves.

"Don't even get started on bickering you two, just because you two are so damn alike and can't stand it doesn't mean we need to be involved." Sasori glared at the two males. "Now, Shisui, where is she?"

"At bar near the Uchiha District." Shisui stated.

"How do you know she hasn't left already?" Deidara questioned.

"How do you think she took my alcohol away?" Shisui questioned the blonde. Not letting him answer, the eldest Uchiha spoke. "She works there. Now come on, little cousin, we have a riddle to get you!"

* * *

Itachi and Shisui walked into the bar. Both pair of eyes looking for the female. The hoard of people made their task a lot difficult than it should have been, but that didn't stop either of them.

"Hey there is her bar!" Shisui said excitedly. A frown quickly adorned his lips however, when he saw she wasn't there. "Damn, where'd she go?"

"Shisui, you said she worked here. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she was on break? Or her shift is over?" Itachi said.

"Well…no," Shisui grumbled, "but that still doesn't explain why we wouldn't be able to find her!"

"I'll make a bet with you," Itachi wagered.

Shisui's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm before clouding over with recognition. Itachi rarely wagered, and if he did he knew he was going to win.

"Depends what you want to wager." Itachi heard the hesitance in his older cousin's voice and smirked.

"I bet you she is out back." Itachi said.

Shisui thought for a moment before taking Itachi up on the bet. They chose the prize the winner would receive. Shisui felt rather confident; after all the woman has evaded Itachi this long already. Following his little cousin out the back, Shisui spoke. "You know, little cousin, I highly doubt the vixen—"

"Took you long enough," A soft feminine voice said. Her voice was husky and her eyes were hazy. The two men could tell she had been drinking. Shisui cursed mentally. Itachi won and Shisui could no longer pester him...for a month.

"Are you drunk, sugar?" Shisui questioned.

"What would give you that strange notion?" Sakura asked. Her eyes narrowed on him. Then her gaze shifted to Itachi. "Is he why you were late?"

"I was only fifteen seconds late," Itachi stated.

"Yes, _you_ were fifteen seconds _late_," Her rasping voice chided him.

Shisui stared at her in surprise. He didn't actually believe that someone was brazen enough to rebuke his little cousin, or the Akatsuki for that matter. How could this soft, seemingly innocent woman be this conniving? Only someone with nothing to lose would have this kind of audacity.

"Wait," Shisui said "what do you mean 'you were late'?"

"Exactly what I said. You were late." Sakura grumbled.

"Give me the letter," Itachi said.

"You know," Sakura started "I know your name but you don't know mine."

"Isn't that the point of you giving me the riddles? So I can find out your name?" Itachi questioned. Her drunken state was clearly driving her vocal cords at the present moment.

"But you would think you would have at least came up with a name to call me," Sakura mumbled. The rosette vixen was sitting on an AC machine, a rather large bottle for someone her size between her legs.

"I think you've had enough, sugar." Shisui stated. Something about a drunken woman always made him uneasy. Maybe it was because when drunk, a woman was at one of her most vulnerable point and a desire to protect the female pricked at his masculinity. And despite everything she is doing, despite how she is warring against his family and the fact that she took away his alcohol, underneath that strong front is a woman who _must_ have nothing to lose in doing this. And someone, especially a woman (all driven by their emotions), with nothing to lose was far deadlier than any other person.

"You don't know me," Sakura snapped. "I know when I have had enough!"

"Sugar," Shisui approached her at a slow rate. "I really think you should put down that bottle."

"Shisui," Itachi's voice had a ring of authority to it, a warning.

"Itachi, she clearly has had too much to drink!" Shisui argued.

Itachi ignored him, and turned to Sakura. "Just give me the riddle, and we will leave you alone."

They heard an unladylike snort come from the woman downing a bottle of what they two assumed was hard liquor. "You already left me alone when you killed them. You left me more alone that I could have ever thought to be."

"Sugar," Shisui said.

"He came up with a nickname for me it seems, are you not as quick witted?" Sakura muttered. She took another sip of her bottle.

"Sugar, what do you mean 'Tachi left you alone?" Shisui questioned. Itachi was curious as well. He's never seen the woman in his life; he couldn't have possibly 'left her alone' as she put it.

"Well to be honest I just group that whole organization as one person. I use 'you' to refer to everyone in that damn group." Sakura said.

"Even Sasuke and Naruto?" Itachi asked.

Sakura opened her mouth but closed it rather abruptly. She didn't answer the question, but the two Uchihas knew the answer. Naruto and Sasuke weren't included in her category of 'you'.

Sakura chugged the rest of her bottle. When it was empty, she shoved a rolled up piece of paper into the bottle. "Take your damn riddle; you are just another thorn in my side." She threw the bottle between the two.

Itachi picked up the envelope from the shattered remains of the bottle. "Shisui, let's go." He turned to walk away.

"Are you really this heartless, Itachi? I mean I know she's been causing you problems, but to leave her alone here when she's drunk? Your mother taught you better than that, man!"

Sakura stared at the two with clouded amusement. "All this talk about relatives makes you Uchihas pretty heated. Tell me, how can a clan so bent on family be cruel enough to take away a child's only sense of comfort? Her family?"

She watched as Shisui turned to face her, and Itachi's step falter. Her gaze focused more on Shisui than his stoic cousin. Shisui was more of an open book. He was much easier to read.

"Is that why you are going against Itachi?" Shisui questioned. "Because the Akatsuki killed your family?"

"It goes a lot deeper than that, honey. A Helluva a lot deeper. All that I am doing, all that will happen was caused by you. Whether or not you go downhill has nothing to do with me. I didn't start it, you did. All I did was just push it along."

"Everyone dies, Sugar. Why kill more people?" Shisui asked. He was vaguely aware of his cousin standing next to him. One thing that would always stop Itachi was his little cousin's curiosity.

"You know, my father once told me" She stared at the two males a moment before speaking, "If you have the impudence to kill a person, you should at least taste the bloodshed to know the horror you cause. But I doubt you people are capable such a thing. To kill? Of course, you are more than capable, but to realize the horror? That is a feat you can't reach."

Shisui decided that she was way drunker than he imagined. "Itachi go find your brother."

Itachi looked at him. Itachi never took orders from others. He followed his own rules. He opened his mouth to defy his older cousin.

"Itachi this is not a subject you can get out of. Either bring your brother here or all three of us will go and find him." Shisui growled out. He knew he was mad at the woman; she did take his booze away, but that male pride of his refused to allow her to stay drunk and alone.

"Fine," Itachi growled out. Itachi walked away from his cousin and the deranged woman.

* * *

"Sugar," Shisui began to walk forward. "Can I sit next to you?" He was being careful; he wasn't sure how she would take to being approached.

Sakura nodded after a few seconds. "I can't see the harm of you sitting next to me. It's not like you are going to rape me or something. I mean if you were going to you would have done it, right?"

"I would have never raped you to begin with," Shisui said. He took a seat next to her. "So what made you decided to get drunk?"

"I don't know why I would tell you but…It's the anniversary," Sakura's raspy voice cooed. "Tell me," She stared Shisui directly in the eyes. "What would you do if you saw your parent's killed before your every own eyes."

Shisui eyes widen in pure shock. Shisui had never heard of the Akatsuki doing anything like that. "Are you sure they knew you were there? I mean, I know they will kill people but they never murdered in front of a child."

"Oh trust me, you knew. How could you have missed an eight-year old child with vivid pink hair? I was right in front of my parents. You were kind enough to make their death quick, but you were still very cruel. How could you allow me to live after that?" Shisui was surprised at her last statement. After one had seen such an act, he would have assumed she wouldn't want any more bloodshed. But he couldn't help but realize that each time she said the word you, he flinched. He would rather not think about being the one who inflicted her parent's death. And normally, death wouldn't have made him flinch…but when some girl's strong façade was cracking in front of you and she continued to refer to you as a part of the murder, he didn't know how he or anyone else couldn't flinch.

"I wouldn't let anyone live after seeing something like that. I would have much rather died with my parents than be forced to live each day knowing that I watched you kill them." Sakura whispered.

"Are you alright?" The familiar voice Sakura knew too well sounded in front of her. She looked up and saw her friend. "What the hell are you doing here? I took you home an hour ago!" Sasuke chided.

Sakura scoffed, "You know better than anyone that on nights like this, there is no such thing as home. It's just a false security to be stripped away sooner or later."

"You know that isn't true…" Sasuke murmured.

When he looked into Sakura's viridian eyes, he saw it. He saw the horrid monster that lay within her. The vindictive voice that would croon words of deceit and give soft false assuring caresses. It was manipulative and vengeful, a driving force in all that she has been doing. It was a sinister, corruptive, and warped in its sense of justice. But it was her security blanket.

"Why didn't I see this earlier?" Sasuke sighed.

"See what?" Shisui questioned.

Sasuke eyed his cousin, then his friend, then his cousin once more. "Nothing of importance to you. Thanks for having Itachi fetch me, Shisui. Despite what Aniki thinks, if something happened to her I _know_ he would feel some remorse. He is a pacifist after all."

Shisui scoffed. "I did not do it for his benefit."

"No, you did it because it was right." Sasuke smirked.

"Just get her home safely, and do not leave her alone." Shisui ordered. "If she didn't stay the first time, it would be foolish to think she would stay the second."

"Yeah, I know." Sasuke picked her up bridal style and walked out of the small alley with his closest, nonrelated, friend. She was laying her head against his chest, and she seemed rather calm. She wasn't fighting him, which made him a little wary. It must be because she either drank way more than Itachi told him or she was too exhausted. Sasuke could only hope she remembered this night. Then maybe she would realize that not all of them are as vicious as they like to portray.

* * *

"So what is the riddle?" Shisui questioned. Now that the girl was taken care of, he was back to his cheerful self.

"_Relatives rely on it,_" Itachi read from the letter she gave him. He was rather surprised to find that there was no insulting note before or after the riddle, only the riddle itself.

"Well what could that mean?" Shisui questioned.

Itachi thought of all the things it could possibly mean and that was a fairly long list. How had this woman come up with such hard riddles? They were so simple, yet he could never guess what the answer was suppose to be.

"Well you could always ask Aunt Mikoto, or Uncle Fugaku?" Shisui suggested.

"No, it's against the rules." Itachi said.

"Sheesh, so many rules. What are they exactly?"

"Just the general: no help from any person, no use of government files, nothing that can really help out in the situation…"

"Damn," Shisui whistled.

Itachi thought for quite a while, he tried to form a solid idea on what the answer could be. Or at least what could lead him to the answer.

"Hey Itachi," Shisui questioned.

"Hn?" Itachi muttered, slightly irritated that Shisui interrupted his thinking.

"Did you notice something…off about how she spoke?" The older Uchiha responded.

Now that Itachi thought about it, something was off. But he couldn't place what that exactly was. "Hn?"

Shisui knew that meant for him to continue. "I thought back to our conversation…you know the one we had with her?" Itachi nodded. "Well, little cousin, the more I think about, there wasn't a time she spoke to us in that alley that she didn't use the word you. I mean even when you were gone she always used the word 'you'."

"Where are you going at, Shisui?"

"Why would she continue to use the word 'you'?"

Shisui had a very good point, and Itachi admitted he thought about that but that still didn't answer the riddle.

What would 'you' have to do with relatives? Then it hit him. Shisui even answered it, unknowingly of course. Aunt, Uncle, Mum, Cousin. They all have a 'U' in it.

"Sneaky little wench," Itachi muttered.

Shisui stared back at his cousin in shock. "I know you're mad that we wasted more time than you deemed necessary, Itachi, but she was a damsel in distress. And whether your knightly honor is active or not, mine is. And I refuse to knowingly allow her to harm herself."

"What makes you think she would harm herself?" Itachi questioned.

"Didn't you see it? That look in her eye? That void, empty look? She had nothing to lose. Why wouldn't she put herself in harm's way? Or harm herself for that matter? I mean look what she is doing Itachi! And to make matters worse, Sasuke knows about it. And I'm positive he wouldn't tell me or you what 'it' exactly is."

Itachi had to admit his cousin made a fairly good point. "She is still a sneaky little wench."

"Why?" Shisui questioned.

"She gave me the answer." Itachi growled out. It irked him to know that. He wasn't sure why, maybe his male pride?

"So what is the answer to the riddle?" Shisui questioned.

"U," Itachi stated.

* * *

**I'm not really thrilled with this chapter, but it went where it had to go. Review (:**

**-Kori**


	7. Lost it

**Sorry for the late update. Things had been going on and didn't call for much time writing. I do not own the series or any character of Naruto. Just the Plot.**

* * *

Rumor: Chapter 6

* * *

The town was whispering now. Whispering about a girl challenging the Akatsuki. But there was no proof of it happening. People never saw what was going on or who started it. It was pure speculation from the towns' people. It was just a rumor.

"Hey, forehead, do you know anything about this?" A platinum blonde asked her close friend.

"Why would I know about the rumors the town people come up with?" Sakura asked. She had to resist the smile tugging at her lips. Sakura knew quite a bit of the rumors, Ino knew, but the young rosette had _always_ denied the knowledge.

"You are friends with Sasuke and Naruto," Ino started but shut up rather abruptly when green eyes glared at her.

"I will only say this once, Ino. You know my disdain for that group, but my loyalty to the boys is far greater than that animosity. But that does not change the fact that they know my disdain and that our personal lives and their group escapades remain separate."

Ino looked at her petite friend, "So no juicy gossip?"

Sakura let out a sigh. "No juicy gossip."

"Damn!" Ino shot her pink haired friend a small frown. "Then what am I keeping you around for?" She jibed.

"Sasuke?" Sakura heckled. She watched the blonde's sea blue eyes widen, before narrowing.

"You play dirty!" The blonde scolded. She only received a laugh from the rosette.

"Dirty is the only way to play, my dear." Sakura winked. "Now I was under the impression that you were going to buy my lunch."

"Where did you get that crazy idea?" Ino questioned.

"When you called me and told me to meet you at the market in twenty minutes." Sakura responded. "So let's go, I was thinking of the Dango Shop on Third Street?"

Ino grumbled but consented. "You're paying for the next meal."

"Fair enough," Sakura stated with a sly smile. "But I'm sure you will not be mad at me for making you pay for long,"

"And why do you say that, forehead?" Ino's sea blue eyes narrowed on her friend's figure.

"I have a very reliable source that says Nara will be there working today," Sakura sounded like it was a regular occurrence. But when her green eyes caught Ino's expression at the news, it made the rosette's heart break. She didn't want to hurt her friend, but she was trying to help Ino the only way Sakura knew how: Walking through it.

It was no secret that Ino used to like Shikamaru. At first it was a stupid crush, but overtime she got over it and that crush turned into a type of sibling-love. However, lately Shikamaru has been avoiding Ino, and Sakura knew how much it hurt her friend.

Ino was about to speak but she closed her mouth abruptly after opening it.

"Ino," Sakura's voice was gentle, "Just pretend he doesn't exist. If he wants to be an ass, then let him be. Show him that he can't affect you anymore. You can't let this get between you and pretend that it doesn't affect you!"

"And I can't parade around and acts like a bad ass, Sakura! I am not you! I can't pretend that I am immune to the crap other people dish out at me while I silently condemn them." Ino snarled.

"At least I do something about it! I mean what can you say for yourself? What happened to the confident girl I met when I was little; the girl who protected me from bullies and told me to grow a back bone?"

"That was before this was actually real, before people grew up and outgrew pinky promises, sleepovers, and cooties. All of that didn't mean anything, Sakura. The fights we got into weren't real. We ran to our mothers and they fought our battles. If someone hurt us we brushed it off, and within the next day we were playing outside together. But all of this," Ino motioned her hands towards the area surrounding her body, "This is real. Our mothers don't fight our battles. We don't brush it off when someone hurts us; we try to work it out; sometimes one person doesn't want it to, and if that is the case, or it just doesn't work out, we destroy the bridge that once existed between us. The confident girl you met was just an ignorant girl who believed that everything always worked out. But you know that isn't true, you know that better than me."

"Go home, Ino." Sakura said after a few minutes. Her demand wasn't in anger or in pain. "Go home, pamper yourself and just escape for a while." The young rosette turned away from her friend and walked towards the Dango Shop.

"Sakura!" Ino called out as she watched her best friend still and face her once more.

"Look, Ino. You need to escape for a bit. So do it. You helped me out when we were little. So I will help you out. You knew that world we grew up in; I know this one that we are in now." With that said, Sakura walked away.

Ino began to head home, she mulled over what her friend told her. Maybe she did need a break from reality.

* * *

"You're an ass you know that?" Sakura told the young male in front of her.

"And you are harassing me," Shikamaru responded dryly "In front of your friend's family, none the less."

"And how is that suppose to make a difference to me?" Sakura stated. "Also, they aren't all Uchihas. The blue one and the silver haired one are just common strays."

"Why you—!" Hidan growled as he jumped out of his chair. He was grabbed by Kisame, and prevented from attacking the vixen that was causing some rather interesting entertainment.

"Let her get it out of her system, Hidan. It could be very amusing," Kisame told his friend who reluctantly sat back down.

"That is enough of this," Sasuke drawled out.

"Why are you doing this anyway?" Naruto's blue eyes fell onto his friends features. He heard from Sasuke what happened other night, and he was still concerned as to whether or not she was still 'all there'.

"Loyalty and he apparently lacks said loyalty!" Sakura snarled.

"So you go and verbally attack him?" Shisui questioned. He had his doubts about the girls sanity after what he witnessed last night, and the spectacle before him assuring his doubts.

"If I was attacking him, he would be in the hospital by now." Sakura growled.

Shikamaru sighed. "Look, just tell me why you are here."

"How about you tell me why you are ignoring, Ino? Tell me how you can pretend that you were never friends? Tell me why you are hurting her when she didn't do anything to you?" Sakura's voice was softer now, less threatening.

"She attacked my girlfriend!" Shikamaru argued.

"Your girlfriend was a common whore who deserved it!" Sakura snapped. "The bitch got what was coming to her. You know Ino; you know she would never let someone walk over her and treat her like dirt." Sakura paused for a moment, her cold emerald eyes narrowing on Shikamaru. "Well no one but you."

"How did my girlfriend deserve what Ino did to her? She is still in the freaking hospital for god sakes!"

"You girlfriend is still in the hospital because of me, you jack ass. I put her back in there after she so rudely talked down to and insulted Ino. You might lack loyalty, but I don't. So I will be clear on this. If your girlfriend attacks my friend again, verbally or emotionally, I will kill her in ways that will make you and Sasuke and any other void of emotions bastard cringe."

"You are now threatening my girlfriend in front of me? What did she ever do to you?" Shikamaru growled out. His anger was radiating off of him.

"She hurt Ino," Sakura muttered. Her voice was low and calm. Her eyes glazed over and some what distant.

"Shikamaru, back down." Sasuke said calmly. He was now standing next to Sakura, ready to jump in if she or Shikamaru try to shed blood. Sakura being the one he was betting on. His hand was gripping Sakura's wrist, holding her back just a little to ease the tension growing in him. He loved both of his friends, but he had to stand by Sakura. She wasn't the same person he knew growing up. She didn't change over night; no it was a gradual change. But it was going to destroy her if she didn't find stable ground soon; he didn't want that to happen, he wouldn't _let_ that happen.

The men behind Sasuke were watching the scene unfold. Kisame and Hidan were eagerly watching the scene, silently cheering for a fight to break out. Naruto watched his two best friends every move; ready to get up and intervene at a moment's notice. Shisui and Itachi were just silent. To them, they were getting to see yet another side of the woman in front of them. She has a playful side, a dark side, a void side, and now a fiercely loyal side. The girl was a walking complexity. And both men wanted to solve the puzzle.

"I will not back down when she is threatening my girlfriend, Sasuke! She has no right. If Ino has a problem she should come with me to it, not to her!"

"She should come to you? After the hell you put her through? Not in my lifetime, never again. If you want to talk to Ino, be a man and initiate the contact yourself. Because if she has to do another thing for you, it won't be just your girlfriend's life on the line; it will be hers and I refuse to let that happen."

"And why would her life be on the line, because I don't love her like I love my girlfriend? She should get over that crush." Shikamaru roared.

"She has you idiot. But love doesn't go away. She might not have any romantic interest in you, but she still loves you. And every day that goes by hurts her more and more; and I am tired of watching her pretend that it doesn't hurt when I know it does. I've been there. I know what it is like to have things ripped from you and how much it _sucks _that you can't fix it yourself. And if she has to mend the thing _you_ broke between you two, there won't be anything left to fix. It's a two way job, Nara. If you aren't willing to help her fix it, it will never be mended." Sakura's voice went from heart wrenching to cold as she turned her topic from Ino to Shikamaru. "Sasuke you can let go of my wrist."

"You aren't going to slug him, right?" Sasuke asked. He was hesitant, and still holding on to her. Sakura was known to go calm before complete hell broke loose.

"No I won't. I pinky promise I won't hurt him, even though he does need it." Sakura responded sardonically.

Sasuke let her go, and Sakura's hand immediately went to her bag. Sasuke eyed her had warily but was relieved to see that she only pulled out a white envelope. "Here," She threw it towards Naruto and started to walk out the door.

Before she pushed the door open, she turned back to Shikamaru. "By the way Asshole, your girlfriend cheated on you. Looks like you lost it twice." And with that said, Sakura walked out of the restaurant.

* * *

"What does she mean you lost it twice?" Naruto questioned. He looked at the envelope and saw it was meant for Itachi, so he handed it to his older brother. Naruto watched as Itachi opened it.

"It has to do with the riddle," Itachi replied. His eyes never looked up from the note she wrote. He didn't know why, but he was disappointed. Just like the one before this letter, this one didn't have a note from her either; only the riddle and a small vial of the antidote.

"Well what is the riddle?" Shisui questioned.

"What do you mean, riddle?" Shikamaru asked.

"She gave four members of the Akatsuki the option to play her game, or leave the town. They chose to play her game." Naruto replied.

"Itachi was elected to answer riddles she gives him." Sasuke said.

"What's the goal of answering the riddles?" Shikamaru continued his questioning.

"Guess her name." Shisui answered.

"But Sasuke and Naruto know her name. Why don't they tell you? Or I can?" Shikamaru stated.

Sasuke shot him a look. "Itachi wasn't smart enough to not go near her alone and she used that opportunity to poison him. She knows the Uchiha Pride like a book, Shikamaru."

"The fact it was your brother she chose to target doesn't bother you, Sasuke?" Shikamaru questioned.

"It was sheer luck that Itachi got caught up in it." Sasuke stated.

"What did Itachi get caught up in?" A new voice sounded. The group of males looked up and Naruto beamed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered.

"Pleasure to see you too, Naruto; but I'm interested to learn what the infamous Uchiha protégé got 'caught up in'." The group noticed a twinkle of amusement in the gray-haired male's eye.

"In one of our other teammate's games." Sasuke responded.

"Well that will provide entertainment." Kakashi knew the young girl well. She could play the system far better than anyone he knew. It was the main reason she was Tsunade's student despite her young age.

"So you know of this too? And you didn't try to stop it?" Shisui asked. "What if she got caught, she would die."

Kakashi turned a lazy gaze towards Shisui. "She is a big girl, Shisui. She knows the risks she takes."

"Not that you can tell her no, if you are speaking of who I think you are." A new voice, feminine, called from behind the jonin.

"Ah, Anko. You decided to join the conversation too?" Kakashi questioned with a grin.

Anko spoke. "So are you talking about the sneaky, sweet" a snort came from Kisame, "girl I think are talking about?"

"Who else would be brazen enough to fight with Mr. Ego over there." Kakashi pointed to Itachi.

This got a laugh from Anko. "Like mother like daughter," The woman responded. Kakashi knew Anko was referring to how Sakura acted more like Tsunade than her actual mother. "Anyway, I am glad I found you Kakashi. I needed to talk to you. The party has been changed to tonight."

"Alright I'll be there." Kakashi said.

"Good!" Anko grinned before she heard her order called out. "Well that's my food. See you later!" She walked away from the group and towards the counter. She received her dangos and left the restaurant.

"What party? Can I come?" Naruto asked.

"No, jonins only." Kakashi told him. "And now I'm going to leave, I have a book that is calling my name." With a wave of his hand, the grey-haired man strolled out of the food establishment.

No one spoke for five minutes. To clear the tension between Sasuke and Shikamaru, which Shisui could clearly see forming, he repeated his question from earlier. "Well what is the riddle?"

Itachi didn't say anything, instead he just handed Shisui the letter. The eldest Uchiha looked at the note before he read it out loud. "You had it once, lost it twice, too bad for you your memory just wasn't suffice."

* * *

The 'party' was in session with an argument in the mists.

"She shouldn't be doing whatever she is and you know it, Tsunade! She is practically a child! Why would you knowingly allow her to do _this_ without knowing _what _she is doing?" Jiriya shouted.

"She has done more than any of us so far." Tsunade responded with a calm voice.

"While putting herself in harms way. She isn't thinking straight, you even said so yourself a few times! She can't think under pressure," Jiriya tried to reason.

"She can think under pressure, not as well as some of the other members can but in some aspects she is still just a child like you said. So why should she? And yes, I admit she has a bizarre way of handling things and she might not think everything through, but she doesn't do things half-assed. For her it is an all or nothing deal." Tsunade responded.

"How can it be an all or nothing and still not require her to think it all through?" Asuma asked.

"Could you plan something against the Akatsuki and have ever detail planned out? I haven't been able too." Tsunade growled out.

"She is a child though, Nade!" Jiriya growled. "I've talked to Naruto. He said she is acting strangely. Even Sasuke thinks so!"

Tsunade let out a loud sigh. "Sakura is who she is. What she is doing now is her, and only her. She isn't pretending to be nice or sweet. This thing she is going through now, it is just her. Her faults, her fears, her hopes, all of it is what she hides. If she doesn't let it out now, worse things could happen."

"Stop protecting her, Nade. She's a grown girl." Jiriya argued.

"She's my daughter!" Tsunade growled out.

"_Adoptive _Daughter. You took her in when you met her and saw she hit rock bottom."

"Nothing will change what she is doing. She is already way to deep. The Akatsuki won't let her get out of this live unless she escapes it. So you can either support her, or leave my house and never return."

Tsunade's voice was icy and brooked no compromise. The discussion was clearly over.

* * *

Itachi stared at the paper before him. This riddle stumped him. He could not think of an answer for it. She said it to Shikamaru, so it must have involved him in some way right?

'_You had it once,' _what the hell was she referring to? You was a broad term, it could mean anyone. For some reason though, Itachi just knew the young pinkette girl was referring to Itachi. Or Shikamaru. Could it be both of them perhaps?

More so, how can you have something once, but _'Lost it twice,'_? Itachi had never lost something; he was too organized.

But there had to be answer. The girl might be crazy but she wasn't stupid and wouldn't give him a riddle she knew he couldn't answer without help from another source. He has to know the answer to this. But he couldn't think of anything that would be even remotely close to the answer.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. This was going to be a long night, and for once in his life: he didn't think he would be able to solve this problem.

* * *

**Tell me how it was! Sorry for the late update. I had some family issues to take care of and then school started. Things had just been hectic.**

**-Kori**


	8. Close

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, my reasons are at the end. Also Congratulations to Mischa Rowe for guessing the riddle correctly! (: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and the majority of the riddles in this story.**

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

Itachi opened the door to his room. The base was starting to get loud due to Sasori and Deidara's argument about which style of art was better. Personally, Itachi thought both of their art choices were crappy. He took a step into his room before freezing; his gaze focusing on the area where his bed would be located.

"Have you found out the answer to the riddle yet?" a voice crooned from the depths of Itachi's dark room. Said man flicked on the lights and saw the pink haired vixen perched on his bed. She was either extremely brave or deadly stupid. She was probably both.

"How did you get into my room?" The Uchiha asked. His onyx eyes gazed into her emerald ones. They seemed livelier than yesterday. Sakura gave the older man a sly smile. "A girl never reveals the art of her trade," she stated coyly.

"Hn," Itachi grunted. He would have never pictured her to be a thief. Or he imagined a thief. What other profession would require someone to have the skills of breaking in to another's home? More over what could she want that he possessed? …That's right; he was still in possession of her necklace. His brothers did say that there would be no convincing anymore, only action taken from the rosette.

"What are you here for then?" He questioned. He watched as her eyes flickered with…humor? The young woman didn't answer him though and that frustrated him. "Answer me," he commanded, in a lower voice. The response he received was not one he expected.

"Have you ever noticed that your voice gets really quiet when you are pissed?"Sakura told him a sly grin crept on her face. "You are just like Sasuke-kun, or should he is more like you?"

Itachi sighed. "What do you want?" He asked once more. He hoped she would answer him this time. He would rather her just leave his room. Kicking her out didn't seem such a bad idea to him…but he didn't know how she got in so he couldn't seal off her previous entrance.

"Honey, you know what I want. So why don't you be a dear and give it to me?" Her voice sounded sweet, sickly sweet. And a smile was still plastered on her face.

"No." Itachi responded dryly. Her smile dropped down to a harsh grimace.

"Listen Uchiha, we both know that this isn't going to end well for either of us. So why not give me the necklace that will be worthless to you after I die?" Her reply shocked him, not that he showed it. He was surprised that she actually knew her fate. Despite what Shisui said, Itachi still thought that she would believe she could escape the consequences of her actions. And here she stood before him, telling him that she knew she would die—that she had no quarrels with the idea—so he should just give her the necklace.

"And why would it not end well for either of us? As far as I know you are the only one going to die." Itachi said. But despite the fact that he said this, Itachi felt kind of sad that in the end she would die. Not many people could challenge him as she had been doing.

"My last riddle stumped you did it not?" She said. A facetious smile crept back on her face. She looked at his standing figure under her thick lashes. "I promise that was not my intention…well actually it was."

"Tell me what you want woman," Itachi stated once again "besides the necklace."

"I want my necklace; however I was curious to know if you needed help answering the riddle. I wouldn't mind helping you." Itachi stared at her in shock. She was willing to help him on a riddle? Itachi looked at her suspiciously. Did she think she could barter her service for her necklace? The smile on her face broke out into a wide, toothy grin and he found himself growing even more cautious.

. "…if you beg for it." Ah, there was the catch.

* * *

"Hey where is Naruto?" Sakura asked her friend with a smile.

"He went to Ichiraku with that Hyuuga girl." Sasuke looked at his female friend. His gaze laced with suspicion as she hummed a friendly melody. Something was off about her today, something he could not pinpoint. Finally his curiosity got the best of him.

"Sakura," He called out. She ceased her humming and tilted her head in his direction.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She asked. His question changed when he noticed something in her hand. His previous question would have to become the second question.

"What is in your hand?" The rosette blinked thrice before she opened her mouth to speak. She closed it, then opened it and closed it again. Her lip was hooked under one of her teeth as he watched her analyze his question. "Answer me, Sakura."

"You Uchihas are all alike," she muttered under her breath.

"You went to see my brother, didn't you? You know he won't give you the necklace so why did you go see him?" Sasuke asked. "How did you even go see him?"

"Yes; because I could; and I have my ways." Sakura answered Sasuke's questions. Though she refused to answer his first; she knew he would demand it back once he discovered what she had in her hand. '_Why didn't I hide it in my pocket?'_ She thought to herself. Then she remembered: she was afraid she would lose it if it was in her pocket. What point was there to bargain if she lost it?

Sasuke sighed. "Sakura, answer me now." His voice was firmer and brooked no refusal. Sakura's lips curled into a grimace. She hated when he used that tone. It was so_ annoying._

The pinkette didn't answer the dark haired male's question. Instead she just held up her hand before opening it. An object dangled from a chain out of her hand. Sasuke recognized it immediately.

"How did you get that?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura just gave him a smile before responding the same way she had to Itachi. "A girl never reveals the secrets of her trade. But I will tell you this; it took a while to obtain." Sakura's attention turned to how she had obtained the necklace.

**-Flash back-**

"_So do you accept the offer, Itachi?" She asked with a grin. She was hoping he would say yes. She wanted to see the strong male beg for something. She wanted to know if he was like her: capable of standing on his own but had a strong desire for friends, freedom, and an actual life. She thought they seemed similar…but things should never be taken at face value._

"_No." His answer was almost immediate. Sakura couldn't help the frown that appeared on her face._

"_You men are always so prideful. Have you ever thought that maybe that would be your downfall?" Her viridian eyes focused on his onyx ones. The frown fell from her face, leaving it void of emotion. He watched as the young woman began to shift on his bed. His eyes never left her form, especially when she got off his bed and headed in his direction. She stopped inches away from his person. Her face leaned closer to his._

"_I can respect a person like that," she whispered in his ear. Her voice was soft and breathless. "But their pride has to be used right to earn that respect. Are you the type like that, Itachi-_kun?_" Her arms wrapped around his neck; then she kissed him. While her lips distracted him, her hands played with the chain._

**-End of Flash back-**

"You took _his_ necklace?" Sasuke yelled. "Of all the stupid things you have been doing you took that?"

"What's the difference between my necklace and his?" Sakura asked. Her eyes narrowed on her friend's form. "They both seem valuable. Why not trade one for the other?"

"Ours is a family artifact. That has been passed down to _every_ heir of the clan. You need to give it back!"

"And mine was given to me by my mother, the woman your _family_ killed. I would say we are even Uchiha." Sasuke flinched when he heard her snarl his last name. He hated when she used his last name. It felt weird to him; especially after all the three of them had been through. "The deal is simple, he gives me my necklace and I will return his. If he refuses the necklace goes bye-bye. Is that clear?"

Sasuke thought over what Sakura said for a moment. "Alright, if I convince him to give your necklace back to you will you return his?" Sasuke asked.

"I will do one better, Sasuke-kun. Promise me that you _will_ get my necklace back to me and I will allow you to return this necklace to him so that when he agrees you can hand it over immediately." Sakura lifted her hand and out-stretched her pinky.

Sasuke sighed. He allowed his pinky to entwine with hers. For some reason, it felt as if Sakura was in the past when it came to promises. She would never settle for verbal promises or handshakes. Only pinkie promises. Neither of the Uchiha boys nor Ino knew why she was like that. "This promise extends to you also, Haruno. If I cannot back down, neither can you. Now hand over the necklace."

Sakura did so without quarrels. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That was easier than I thought, Sakura. What do you _really _want?"

"Ah there is the suspicion. What I want is something you cannot give me, Sasuke-kun. _However _I wouldn't mind if you brought something to your brother for me."

"Couldn't you have done that yourself when you were actually there, Sakura?" Sasuke asked. He didn't want to feel like some messenger boy…but right now Sakura was making him feel like that. Even though it was _him_ that demanded she returns the necklace.

"No," Sakura said. His gaze told her she needed to elaborate why. "I was too preoccupied with another matter. But seeing as how you are already going to go over to see your dear Aniki, why not deliver a riddle for me?"

Sasuke let out a sigh. "Fine," he grumbled. He waited for her to hand him the letter. Once he received it, he sat on his couch waiting for her to leave.

"Oh one more thing," Sakura said as she stopped before turning around.

"What is it now, woman?" Sasuke huffed out. He was getting agitated with her. He loved her to death, but now he remembered why she was so annoying when they were younger.

"It's love." She said before she turned and walking out of his house.

* * *

"Aniki," Sasuke called out at the base.

"Whatcha' want Itachi for?" Deidara asked. He stood a good few feet away from the younger Uchiha. For all Deidara knew, the kid was still out for his blood.

"She wants to trade him something." Sasuke responded after a few moments of hesitation. He was still mad at the blonde. Sasuke made his way closer to the hallway he knew his brother's room to be located at.

"So you are now her messenger boy?" Deidara asked. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

As Sasuke got closer to Deidara, he couldn't resist the urge to punch the blonde. So Sasuke did. His punch wasn't too hard, and didn't cause any damage. But it was still therapeutic for the younger male. I enjoyed.

"No, Deidara. But the item is rather important to my family and I knew she wouldn't return it without something she valued in return. Now tell me if Aniki is in his room or not."

Deidara just nodded his head. He wanted to return the punch to Sasuke, but he doubted Itachi would look down on that too kindly. And two angry Uchihas was not something the blonde had wanted to deal with.

* * *

Itachi sat on his bed still in shock. The woman _kissed _him. And the worst part was he wasn't disgusted by it. He should have been. She was psychotic and rude. But instead he enjoyed her kisses. Her lips were soft and gentle, despite her rough personality. What unnerved him even more was that her kiss seemed familiar.

He heard the door knob move. Only two people were allowed to just walk into his room without knocking: Sasuke and Naruto. Well it wasn't that they were allowed, they just never listened. "Sasuke." He greeted his younger brother.

His brother didn't respond. Instead he just helped up something. Itachi noticed it as the object he had lost earlier. "She had it?" He asked. He was surprised, but he did not show it.

Sasuke however, had his emotions on his sleeve. "Yes she did; how did _you _not notice it was gone?" Sasuke watched has his brothers eyes narrowed slightly.

"Your friend has quite the ability when it comes to distracting." Itachi muttered. "Now is that the only reason why you are here?"

Sasuke shook his head. "She wanted me to give you this," Sasuke walked over to Itachi's bed and handed him the pink envelope before sitting next to him. "She apparently was to absorbed her distraction to give it too you earlier." He explained.

"Alright," Itachi said. "Hand me the necklace, Sasuke."

"I can't Aniki. She wants her necklace and the only way she will give yours back is if you return hers." Sasuke told him.

"And why can you not just hand it to me yourself; she is not here Sasuke." Sasuke shot his brother a look.

"I am a neutral party in this. However that necklace is a family heirloom and it needed to be returned to its rightful owner. _But_ I know her and she will just take it from you once more. She got it once, didn't she? So give her back her necklace and you get to keep yours."

"Did she want you to do anything else?" Itachi asked, changing the subject.

Sasuke sighed and decided to entertain his brother's wishes for the time being. "No, but she did say something strange to me before she left."

"And what was that?" Itachi asked.

"It's love," the younger Uchiha responded. Itachi looked at his brother, not saying a word. Sasuke understood his brother's message. "I don't know what it means, Aniki. I think it has something to do with the riddle in the envelope I gave you."

"Hn." Itachi said. He tore the letter open and pulled out one of the two pieces of paper in it.

_Well Hello Stranger,_

_Did you miss my friendly greetings? I did. It was just more entertaining writing to you than to insult you to your face. You don't show the emotions. At least on paper I can pretend you had some amusing expression. See the other sheet for what I deem a nice treat. _

_Still Psychotically Yours,_

_-Ha…you weren't actually thinking I would put my name down right? _

Itachi rolled his eyes at her response. But seeing an actual note from her made something inside him feel good. But he noticed the riddle didn't fit with what Sasuke said.

"It doesn't answer this riddle," Itachi said. It had to be an answer to something; she wouldn't have told Sasuke it otherwise.

"It's love… It's love…" Sasuke repeated as he attempted to figure out what Sakura meant by that.

Itachi's mind was focused elsewhere though. _'You had it once, lost it twice, too bad for you your memory just wasn't suffice.'_ Itachi thought back to the previous riddle. '_She mentioned Shikamaru's girlfriend and the riddle before she left. But before that she stated that Nara's girlfriend had cheated him. It has to do something with that.'_ He reasoned.

"That's the answer." He concluded aloud after the moment.

"The answer to what though?" Sasuke asked.

"The riddle from when she went after Nara," Itachi concluded.

"Why would she give you the riddle's answer though?" Sasuke asked.

"To watch me suffer with this one…" Itachi responded. He knew the pink haired vixen had a dark side; clearly watching other's suffer was a quirk of that said side.

"Well what's the new riddle?" Itachi shrugged before he pulled out the other slip of paper from the pink envelope. His eyes searched the paper and he noticed how certain words where underlined before he handed it to Sasuke. The younger Uchiha read the riddle out loud.

"_Our game is almost through; this simple riddle is the last for you. __Remember__ my question: Can you guess my name? Have __you__ found your answer if not I will give you more clues: I tried to be nice; __I__ tried to be sweet, but sitting under our __cherry tree__ was just too much of a feat. __Love__, the answer isn't hard. Just guess my name and the __wind__ will take you pretty far."_

* * *

**Hey sorry for the long wait, I had issues going on in RL and school had been pretty stressful. I haven't had time to write much and the chapter isn't as long as I would like. But I don't feel like forcing it to go any farther because then it would seem weird. I left you the last riddle so send me your guesses as to what the answer might be!**

**When you figure out the answer to the riddle, try to unscramble all of the other ones to recieve Sakura's message! Tell me what you think it is.**

**-Kori.**


	9. Unexpected

**Okay I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you guys like it. However, I would like to warn you that this chapter is mostly [to me at least] a filler. But I would say it is important to read before the next one. **

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

_Let go of your insecurities. Let go of your pain. You are limitless. Nothing is holding you back. You are perfect. You are infinite. Smile. Love. Laugh. Don't forget to live._

Sakura stared at the little card that came with the flowers. She wanted to laugh, so many lies on one sheet. Who would send this to her? Who knew her so _little_ that they thought this was her? But something about the little gift unnerved her. Her friends wouldn't send her this, and on the off chance that they did she knew they would have left their name on the card. So why was she, the hunter, feeling like prey?

"Sakura," a voiced called from behind her. It was soft, motherly.

"Tsunade," The rosette said without turning around.

"You got flowers," Sakura cringed. Their conversation seemed so _forced_. She hated it. This woman, for all purposes, was a mother to her. So why didn't this conversation flow like all the others before it?

"I did," Sakura looked behind her. "Why state the obvious?" She wasn't trying to be rude. Tsunade just wasn't a person she knew to state the obvious.

"It is an indirect question asking what was on the card, Sakura." Tsunade shot her a look as if chiding her.

Sakura snorted. "Not everything is clear cut, Shishou." She responded.

Tsunade gave her a half-hearted glare. The pinkette caught the message and began to recite the phrase on the card. She ended it with a snort.

"They obviously don't know me," She told the older woman.

"On the contrary I would say they know you better than you think." Sakura's eyes widened at what the almond-eyed beauty next to her said.

"Explain," her voice got rougher. She disagreed, but her curiosity must be sated. She needed to know what her Shishou thought was so _true_ about that note.

"Sakura look at your history. You have lost your parents when you were young. That loss has held you at a distance from everyone even Sasuke and Naruto. Your pain far exceeds that of a normal girl your age. Until you met Ino you wouldn't ever _whisper_ a phrase to someone because you feared they would make fun of you. There isn't a wall you haven't climbed, not a mountain you can't-"

"Enough! That's just _changes,_ nothing more. People _change_ to fit their survival needs. My parents were killed in front of me; of course I will keep people at a distance. I lost two already why the hell would I want to lose more? And of course I didn't speak to people before I met Ino. I lost my parents! Just the fact that I witnessed it is more than enough reason to put me into a psychosis! Which you well know is one of the top reasons why kids either go crazy or turn into a selective mute. And yes, I have overcome obstacles. What kid hasn't? But _all_ of that can be explained. The person who sent this does not know me!"

"You can't expect this to be a coincidence, Sakura. You just _can't._" Tsunade told her. The older woman resisted the urge to raise her voice an octave. Maybe Jiriaya was right, maybe she _had_ let this go too far. "I…I don't want to lose you Sakura. I already lost too many, Sakura."

_I can't lose you._ The blonde didn't need to vocalize that message. Tsunade took a deep breath. She didn't know what she would do if that happened. The older woman noticed how the rosette's emerald eyes softened. "You won't…I promise," She heard Sakura whisper.

_God, I hope you are right Sakura. I just hope you are right._

* * *

Itachi looked at the sheet of paper. He had taken out all but the underlined words. But these hints didn't help. Not in the slightest.

_Remember,_you, _I_, _cherry tree__, __love__, __wind__. _

How the hell was that supposed to help him guess her name? Also where was the other riddle answer? He had received 6 riddles that had answers to them. There were only five underlined that were his answers. But what was _Cherry tree?_

Itachi took a breath and attempted to rack his brain for all of the riddle answers prior to this one. He couldn't remember the last one.

"Struggling?" A female voice called out.

"What are you doing back?" Itachi snarled, not bothering to look at who entered his room.

"Last time I checked I was your mother and could see you any damn time I pleased!" The voice barked.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect his mother to come waltzing into his room at the base. He expected _her._

"Sorry I thought you were someone else." Itachi muttered an apology.

"Oh? Who? Obviously a woman if you snapped at me. But why were you expecting a woman? Are you having sex with her? I sure hope not! You need to at least have a ring on her finger! Oh what would your father say of your promiscuous behavior! …Well actually he would probably ask if you have been _satisfying _her. But I forbid you from sleeping with her! Have you at least been using protection?" Mikoto asked.

Itachi turned to face his mother. The only response he could even conjure up was, "What?"

"Well why else would you be expecting a woman? I mean I know I have hounded you for grandkids but I at least expected you to be _engaged._ I don't need my son to turn into a common whore!"

"Mother-"

"I mean really Itachi, where did you meet her? Is there more than one? Please tell me you have at least been getting tes-''

"Mother!" Itachi interrupted. His mother looked at him in shock. Never has he interrupted her before. "I am not sleeping around like a common whore as you so bluntly put it."

"Oh…" Mikoto blinked and said nothing for a moment. "Then why were you expecting a woman to come into your room?"

"The one giving me problems is female," Itachi said. He saw his mother open her mouth to speak. "No I have not been sleeping with her. She has just decided to invade my room whenever she feels the need to."

Mikoto's mouth closed. She was stunned to say the least. Who would have guessed that the one causing her son trouble? "It's a girl?" she asked. Itachi just nodded his head in response. He cringed when he noticed his mother's eyes light up and a grin appear on her face.

"Well what are you struggling with?"

Itachi debated on whether or not he should tell his mother. But after a few minutes, he decided to. "The last riddle she gave me. I can't think what it would be."

"Well then let's get to work!" Mikoto responded.

* * *

"Does that person know me?" Sakura murmured to herself. Unconsciously the girl brought her knees to her chest. Tsunade's words continued to echo in her head. The more she thought about it, that letter did sound right. In fact it almost sounded _familiar._

"But I am not insecure anymore. I couldn't afford to be insecure. Life is fleeting,"

"Like art, un." Sakura jumped at the male voice. Her body tensed as she turned around.

"It's you," she told the blonde.

"It is." He replied.

"Aren't you supposed to attack me? Fight for your gang, or whatever you think secures your masculinity?" Sakura asked.

"I am in a good mood, be happy I don't feel like spilling blood on my uniform." Deidara growled. He let out a sigh; the woman was a pain to deal with. Why did the organization not end her existence earlier?

"So what brings you here?" Sakura asked, her hands motioning to the canyon's cliff.

"It's a good location to handle my art." Deidara said with a shrug. He didn't tell her the real reason though; if he did she would leave before he could execute it.

"Oh right, you're the Akatsuki's bomb technician…" Sakura murmured more to herself than to her current company.

Deidara ignored her statement and asked a question. "So what brought you here?" He noticed how she was hesitant to respond. But to his surprise, she did.

"I was just out here to think," She told the older man. "I kind of needed a reality check; fear is contagious, but strength is intoxicating, you know?"

"So you think you are strong for going against us?" Deidara questioned. Maybe he did know why she wasn't dead yet. She had spunk, not many had that now a days.

"Strength leads to courage; courage is the drug of idiots." Sakura said.

Deidara thought over what she said. "So you are claiming stupidity?" This girl continued to surprise him.

Sakura sighed. "Everyone has their blonde moments. Mine was going against you. However, I do not regret all that I have done. Life is short; this was how I am living it." Sakura explained.

"So you are saying that this was something you had to do to feel alive?" Deidara asked.

"In a sense," Sakura admitted. It was strange that the only way for her to feel alive was for her to seek out a death sentence.

"Why?" Deidara asked. Sakura noticed how his eyes sparkled with something akin to curiosity. The rosette resisted the urge to snort. She seemed to captivate many lately.

"My parents use to tell me to reach for the stars because you never know when your time is over. They would always say that life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish them." Sakura continued to explain. "So I lived. Briefly I loved. I faced my fears. And I cherish the memories of my past."

"What about anger?" Deidara questioned.

"I'm not known for my good temper. Still working on it though," The rosette said.

"That still doesn't explain why you decided to go after us." Deidara told her. Sakura shot him a glare; clearly disagree with why she 'attacked' them.

"Life is a mystery waiting to be told, and you are the author." The green eyed vixen said.

"So what made you seek out us in your novel?" Deidara asked. He figured asking her more questions wouldn't really hurt. Sasori would be here soon, and maybe with the two of them they could take her to the base and have leader deal with her once and for all.

"My tale was starting to go cold. A furtive with no lead is no mystery at all." Sakura stated. "Now why don't you tell me what you are still doing here? You have not once touched your bombs. Which if you were here for the bombs you would have used them by now, neh?" Sakura asked him. He noticed how her green eyes twinkled.

"We are here to take you to the base," another voice, from behind her, said.

* * *

The two males were shocked that the vindictive rosette came with them _willingly._ They were expecting a fight; an exhausting brawl that might have cost one of them their lives. But no, she came without even a disgruntled response against it. The two males couldn't help but think the same thing.

_What is she thinking?_

"What are you doing?" Sakura snapped them out of their reveries.

"We should be asking you that." Deidara said, eyeing the pink haired vixen. She was currently sitting on their living room couch.

"I am sitting here, waiting for you two to tell me why you brought me here." Sakura stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We are waiting for—" Deidara was cut off by another's voice.

"What is she doing here?" Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Itachi.

"Well hello, my red-eyed friend." Sakura said cheekily.

Itachi shot her a glare before turning his attention to Sasori. He didn't expect Deidara to answer his question…well not with a simple answer.

"We figured Leader can dispose of her once and for all and then this _little_ problem." The red head said.

"Excuse me!" Sakura growled out. "You can make fun of my hair color, or my eye color, or my weight but you do _not_ insult my height!" She snarled.

"What is going on here?" Another voice boomed.

"Oh great, what is this? A freaking party? Don't you people have things to do to keep this organization running?" Sakura fumed.

"Who is sh—_Sakura_?" the new voice spoke. Sakura froze as her name was uttered. Her body whirled towards the direction of the voice and saw Pain. Her eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't what she expected when she had agreed to come here.

"Well you just killed my fun, _brother._"

* * *

**Okay like I said this was just a filler, but I think it kind of needed to happen. Tell me what you think in a review! Also I would like to say thanks for all of those that Story Alerted: 116, Favorite Story-ed it: 102, and everyone that helped it get 10k+ hits!**

**Not to mention all of those that reviewed it! Thank you very much!**

**-Kori.**


	10. Fallen from Grace

**First thing first. Wow, the number of reviews I got for the last chapter were amazing! 33! That made me one very happy Author. And I wanted to post the next chapter since I have exams coming up and I need to devote my time to them. So here is the chapter earlier than usual (:**

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

"_Brother?"_ Deidara exclaimed.

"_Sakura?" _The more stoic men said. How was that possible? For this girl to be so devious and given a name so…innocent? Surely her parents mistakenly named her. Cherry blossoms were delicate and harmless; this girl was far from those traits.

Sakura she shot Sasori and Itachi a harsh look. "Just because I am a bitch to _you_, doesn't mean I am to everyone else boys." The rosette then turned to Deidara and gave him a sly grin. "Don't worry, Blondie; I didn't even know of this little..._fact._ Mind clueing me in, Nagato?" Sakura turned her cold viridian eyes onto her brother.

"What are you doing here, Sakura?" Pein ignored her question. He was still surprised to see her here, in his base.

"Well your men thought it kind enough to kidnap—" Sakura was interrupted by the blonde Akatsuki member.

"It's not kidnapping if you go willingly!" He growled at the younger female.

Sakura ignored him, "…me so their leader could _'take care'_ of their situation. Such a surprise to find out my own flesh and blood is the one that needs to take care of the problem." Sakura shot her brother a glare before continuing, "You know you might want to instill self-preservation in these men."

Sasori and Deidara gaped at the tone she was using to their leader. It was scolding and clipped; as if she was not related to him but instead a drill sergeant for a platoon of new recruits. Why was Pein even allowing her to say such things? They were the strongest of the elites, they should be _feared_. Not taught to be independent!

Itachi was a different story. He watched the pink haired girl with amusement and some respect. Though, Itachi had to admit he was surprised of her…_connections_ to the Akatuski. First he discovers that she knows his two younger brothers. Then she is related to the leader of the group. But he was curious as to _how_ she didn't know her own brother was the leader of the gang she had despised so much. And if she grew up with the Akatuski would it have changed how she saw them? Itachi wasn't sure why but he kind of hoped it did.

"I should have known it was you; you're the only one that will go that far with riddles," He let out a sigh. "I congratulate you on stumping my smartest member, Sakura."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Well if I knew you were in this…_gang_ I would have traded victims. Your reaction would be far more amusing however I would have to not see you in person like I did Itachi." Sakura replied. The only emotion shown on her face was the traces of a coy smile. Her emerald eyes were dead, showing nothing. She felt betrayed and she wanted to cry, but how could she cry in front of this man? The one she thought she could trust? The one who had disappeared from her life for ten, long years?

"Why are you doing this?" Pein asked his baby sister.

"No, why did you do _that!_" Sakura's voice went an octave higher. She didn't mean for it to, it just happened.

"They were corrupt, Sakura!" Pein explained his voice calm. This made Sakura even more irate. How could he be calm when he condemned his own parents to death?

"That doesn't mean they deserved to die!" She screeched. It was just her and Nagato right now. He was the one who deserved her wrath, not the three men standing silent somewhere in the room. No long was this organization her enemy; no, now it was her brother. Her own flesh and blood, the man she once idolized.

"Yes, Sakura they rea—" Nagato's reply was cut off by a harpy's scream.

"NO! Do you even hear yourself? You sentenced your own parents, your own flesh and blood_, _to _death!_ How did they deserve to die and not you? How can you dare say you have a right to when you are destroying this town? The place we grew up? How can you call yourself a man?" Sakura's voice was raspy as it grew in volumes.

Pein's eyes narrowed on his sister's frame. Sakura should have known better than to question him, especially to give enquiry on his masculinity. "Sakura," he warned.

"Oh, don't you dare use that tone with me, Nagato. I am not a part of your clique and you cannot belittle me like you can them. We are on equal level here, Nagato. Family always is." Sakura retorted.

"I killed my family remember?" Nagato replied.

"You didn't kill me." Sakura bit out. Why? Why didn't those men kill her? "Don't tell me you had a heart. Because no one who did that could have ever had one," Sakura replied. She blinked away the tears that were forming.

"Why did she survive?" It was a surprise for everyone to discover that Itachi asked the question. His comrades gave him a shocked look while Sakura just simply nodded. She repeated his question.

"Why did they let me live?" Questions came flooding back to her and her voice spoke without her consent. "Why couldn't they have at least killed me after making me witness my parents' murder? Where you so sure of yourself, of your authority, that you never thought I would return the favor?"

The men in the room noticed their leader's body stiffen and his eyes narrow. His hands clenched into a white ball. Did he not know that she had witnessed their parents' murder?

"Describe them." Pein's voice was harsh now.

Sakura's shoulders tensed. "D-describe them?" She asked.

"Sakura," He growled.

Sakura didn't know why she did. Maybe it was because his response to her questions was so different from what she respected. His reaction was similar to that of a man's who didn't know what exactly happened. "It was a group of three; they were two older men and one maybe in his late twenties. The older ones had dark hair about the length of their back while the younger one's hair just came down to the base of his neck. Two out of the three eyes were demented. They enjoyed it. But the third one…he looked like he didn't even want to be there. I swear he kept throwing things at me so I wouldn't see what the others were doing. But that didn't take my mind off of their screams... from what he was doing I knew he was a father," Sakura murmured the last bit to herself more than to the men in the rooms.

"I need more, Sakura." Nagato growled. The four others in the room could tell that he was restraining himself to not yell.

"The youngest had Onyx eyes; one of the older ones had red eyes and the other had yellow." At this, Nagato turned his glare to Itachi. The Uchiha gave no response, he agreed with Pein's anger. It was rightly deserved.

"I will kill them," He growled in a low voice.

"Can't kill all of them," Sakura stated. She took a deep breath and her composure was back to the icy wall.

"And why not?" Pein's eyes narrowed.

"You cannot kill the deceased." The men of the room raised an eyebrow at this.

"The one with yellow eyes, I saw him while I was traveling with Tsunade and Shizune. I can't remember exactly what happened but I remember seeing red and going for his throat. Shizune helped me when his…gay lover?...decided to attack me and well let's just say his body is now mangled." Sakura explained.

Sakura didn't want to go in depth on what happened that day. She killed a man, sure it was rightly deserved but murder was still murder. And because she had committed such an act, she could never forget it. How could Sakura forget the blood that drenched her person? Or the man's last gasping breaths. But the worst of it, how could she forget that look of terror in her mentor's eyes? Sakura couldn't tell these men all that had happened. Because if she did, then she was admitting something she refused to accept. The rosette didn't want to be as much of a monster has her brother.

"Why didn't Tsunade stop you?" Deidara questioned. He didn't know why he asked her that, it just seemed to fly out of his mouth.

The rosette's body stiffened and her eyes glazed with tears before she blinked them away. Her reaction didn't escape the eyes of the Akatsuki men. This made them curious, but before one of them could question it Sakura answered Deidara's question.

"You don't stop someone in that kind of rage. You are risking your own life at that." Sakura made it sound obvious. Her viridian eyes, now glazed to something akin to ice, looked towards her brother. "Don't you teach them anything? I thought you would have at least taught them not to fight a battle with someone who truly has nothing to lose. The yellow-eyed man should have known that," Sakura chided.

"Do you know the name of the others?" Sasori asked. His curiosity slipped from his normally well-controlled emotions. He would have never expected to find such entertainment from an Organization like this.

Sakura hesitated on answering before she nodded her head, "I know one."

"Tell me," Nagato demanded. His voice was laced with the promise of death.

"Kill him and I will kill you." The words were ripped from Sakura's throat in a snarl.

The men didn't expect that response. They expected her to want revenge. The leader was practically willing to off the men who made her witness the killing of her parents. Yet she was refusing to have one of them killed?

"Look, he has been nothing but kind to me. Sure he had never verbally said sorry, but his actions implied that. And if it was one thing I have learned from you, Nagato, it was this: Your actions _always_ speak louder than your words."

"What is his name?" Nagato was persistent.

"I will not give you his name." Sakura responded.

The members of the organization could see how the two were related. Despite the contrast of their looks, the two were practically mountains. So dead set in their ideals that neither refused to move.

"He is Sasuke-kun's daddy," Sakura gave-in, "lay a hand on him and I will chop it off before you could even mutter the word 'sorry'! He was a father, can you imagine how hard it was for him to be there allowing it to happen?"

"He was still a part of it!" Pein argued back.

"_You ordered him there!_ What do you think he felt knowing he had to allow two men to kill a child's parents? He had kids my age! Imagine how hard it was to sit there and distract me while my parents were being painfully killed. How each time I heard one scream, he heard one of mine in return. Or how the last thing I had said to him that night was me _begging_ him to just rip out my eyes and kill me. And each day he saw me after that he had to re-live that memory. He doesn't deserve to die, Nagato. I might do a lot of things for revenge, but I will never kill someone innocent. I am not like you."

"He should have gotten you out of there!" The infamous Akatsuki leader yelled. He fastened his eyes on his younger sister and his voice softened. "You should have never witnessed that, Sakura. That was never my intentions when I told them to kill our parents."

"It doesn't change the fact that you allowed them to be killed," Sakura said.

"They were corrupt," Nagato repeated.

"And you are not? Tell me Nagato who isn't corrupt?" Sakura let out a harsh laugh.

"You aren't," Nagato said quietly.

"Not since that night Nagato. I," Sakura let out another harsh laugh, this time directed at her person. "I can't even tell you the last time something seemed so innocent to me. Not my first kiss, not my first boyfriend, hell not even my first time seemed innocent to me. I have been tainted like an angel fallen from grace."

"Sakura," he whispered. The cold Akatsuki Leader felt his heart rip at her confession.

Sasori and Deidara looked at their leader in shock. The defeat in his voice was something unheard of. They had never known him to have compassion for anyone but Konan. Maybe that was why he was so protective of Konan; maybe the only active female of the Akatsuki reminded the ruthless leader of his younger sister. But that was purely a speculation of the two partners.

Sakura shook her head. "No. You caused this, don't you _dare_ give me that emotion! I refuse to accept pity from anyone, especially from _you._" Sakura's voice was still uneven and a little pitchy. The men could tell she was not as composed as she would have liked to be.

"Sakura," Nagato repeated again. He hated to see his sister like this. Yes he ordered his parents to be killed. But it had to have been done. They would have ruined her life if they lived. He couldn't have let that happen. He refused to, so he ordered them killed. But Pein didn't plan on her reaction to it. Maybe he should explain to her why he had them killed. It was time for him to tell her the whole story.

"You three, leave." Sasori and Deidara do so without complaint. Itachi, however, hesitated. He looked at the female who had caused him so many problems in the weeks before. After a few moments, Itachi left the two alone.

* * *

Ino let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. What made her want to do this? Oh yeah, Sakura. The girl was so brave, and so…so…_stupid._ What did she know about friend problems? But wouldn't listening to Sakura's advice make her unwise also? She was dragged out of her thoughts when someone answered the door.

"Yeah, what do you want…Ino?" The person seemed surprised that she was there.

"Hi…Shika-kun." She murmured. "If this is a bad time I could come back." The blonde heard her best friend's voice echo in her head.

'_What happened to the confident girl I met when I was little; the girl who protected me from bullies and told me to grow a back bone?'_ She was starting to agree with her friend. Where was her backbone, her courage? What made Sakura so strong that she seemed fearless?

Ino had been jealous of Sakura since their second year of middle school. She wasn't that shy girl that she was the previous years. Something changed in Sakura, something she had recently noticed begin to show on the surface. But that change and her striking appearance made her untouchable; exotic even.

"No, this is an okay time. Come in," The brunette male said. He stepped aside and let her into his home.

"…She is not home, is she?" Ino asked. Ino was hesitant on entering his home. She didn't want to cause him any more problems.

Shikamaru shook his head before responding. "No, she isn't. We had a falling out," Shikamaru explained. He wasn't sure if Ino knew about Sakura's escapades so he didn't tell her why he had broken up with his red headed girlfriend.

"Oh, I am sorry." She told the male, before she walked into his home. The pine wood smell hit her nose and she immediately felt like she was at home once more.

"So why are you here?" Shikamaru asked. His tone was generally curious.

"I…I just wanted to say sorry. I know it doesn't make up for all that has happened, and I know you probably don't even care. But I at least wanted to get this off of my chest." Ino blurted out.

Shikamaru looked at her for a moment. "I apologize too. I shouldn't have let something as trivial as that to interfere with our friendship."

Ino looked at him in shock before saying. "Maybe we both screwed this up." Shikamaru nodded his consent at this. Maybe they did put too much strain on their friendship, especially over a stupid reason.

The two talked over all that had happened, why it occured and how their pink haired friend pricked at sore spots. Neither realized how great it felt finally getting rid those emotions which were slowly collecting. It felt good to talk to an old friend. Ino had a smile on her face for the first time in a long while when it came to Shikamaru.

Despite what Sakura had caused them, they had to thank her.

* * *

"Sakura," Pein started.

"You cannot excuse what you've done, Nagato. You just can't." Sakura told him, gently shaking her head. The young rosette's shoulders began to shake and Sakura couldn't contain the emotions that had made her quiver. "There is no plausible excuse to murder our parents. Whatever they did wrong to you, you should have just let it go."

"And I would have," Pein told her, "If it was ever about me."

She was still so innocent. Despite all that she had claimed herself to be, the harsh Akatsuki leader still saw the woman before him as an innocent babe. She was still naïve in the way of the world. No matter how much she has seen, Sakura still placed far too much trust in those she thought deserved her loyalty.

The viridian eyed woman's eyes widened at this admission. "If it were about you…why else would you kill our parents? What other motive could you possibly have?" She questioned. This time Pein hesitated to explain to her, he knew he needed to. But how did he break it to her?

"Sakura," he started. "They died because our parents were planning on selling you into a life of servitude."

* * *

**Alright here is the next chapter. Tell me what you think of it. I added the Ino and Shikamaru scene to ease the tension between Sakura and Pein, it felt…suffocating to me. But that is my opinon. Tell me yours in a review :)**

**-Kori.**


	11. Corruption

**Here is the next chapter. I must say I am very happy with the amount of reviews I received for the last chapter. And I am actually really happy that I have managed to write 3 chapters, and post them this month, with more than 2k words each! :D**

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

"So you sign their death warrants, all because they wanted to sell me?" The viridian eyes had an undistinguishable emotion in their depths. Her face was an unreadable mask. She could have been a portrait if it was not for her body still quivering with an unknown emotion. Could it be fear? Anguish? The Akatsuki leader could not tell.

Pein looked at his sister. Was she not opposed to the idea of being a slave for someone? Surely she was; her strong, independent nature would clash with someone trying to out rule her. She might be young and inexperienced in the world, but she must have at least thought through the words that had just come out of her mouth. She had to of had the foresight to know that servitude is not a life she would have ever been happy with.

"Sakura, they were not good people!" Nagato tried to explain.

"I don't care! No one is perfect, so they wanted to sell me. It could have been for my benefit. They were going through a tough financial crisis; they probably couldn't have supported me and decided to kill two birds with one stone by selling me. They would have money and I would be supported for." Even Sakura knew it was bullshit that was spilling out of her mouth. She was upset at the idea, but she couldn't bring herself to believe a single word her brother was telling her. Her parents would _never_ do such a thing. Nagato was lying. And from the look Nagato was giving her, Sakura knew he didn't believe she agreed with the words she had spoken.

"Sakura," Nagato said in a quiet voice.

"Nagato, I can't believe you. I won't." The vixen's voice broke and tears pricked at her eyes. "They were my parents. They _loved_ me! Whatever they did that you thought was wrong, was probably for me! But I refuse to believe that they were going to sell me." She couldn't believe her brother; it would destroy her already fading faith.

"Sakura, how much about our parent's did you know? How much did you _actually_ know?" Pein asked. Sakura was a smart girl, but when she was little she had the tendency to be selective. If she didn't want to hear it, she didn't. If she didn't want to see it, it was never seen. It was a great ability to have, if she could have controlled it. But it was adequate at best since no one can control their instincts. So was it because of her instinctual defense that she did not see any of their parents' misdeeds?

"That they had a shop below our house and were often busy so they could never play with me. But you know all of that, Nagato." Sakura told her brother; her eyes were lit up with curiosity. Pein could almost hear the gears in her head working as she was trying to figure out what he knew that she did not.

"What did they sell in the shop," he asked. Sakura blinked in surprise. The man could tell she did not expect that question in the slightest. By her reaction, Nagato knew she didn't know. And that little fact she lacked might change her whole view.

"You know I was never allowed in the shop," Sakura said in a clipped tone.

"But you were always a curious little girl, Sakura. Surely you must have tried to discover what our parents never wanted you to see." Sakura's body tensed at her brother's accusation. But she gave no rebuttal.

"Once, about two weeks before you slaughtered our parents, I tried to see what was in the shop. But daddy caught me coming down the stairs and I got in trouble. He threatened to take away my toys if I wasn't a good girl. So, I promised I would never do it again…if he took me to the park later that day." Sakura wasn't sure why she was telling him this. Why was she even talking to the man that killed her parents? Because he was still, somewhere deep down, the man she had loved with all her heart. He still had that part of him that she had clung to throughout these harsh ten years; she just knew it. And he was still the man she had told all of her secrets to when she was little. _He was still her brother._

Nagato's eyes softened at her innocence. She stilled clung to her parent's memory. She still referred to the man Nagato had despised so much as daddy. He mentally shook that thought out of his head. Sakura was the one his focus had belonged to right now. He directed his attention to the bargain she had made, and a slight smile curled his lips. She had always used the park as a bargaining tool, why he never knew. She was often bullied as a child and the park was a known place of where her assailant's would hang out. Yet every time the opportunity would arrive, she would bargain for someone to take her to the park.

"Did he take you to the park?" Nagato asked.

Sakura bit her lip before shaking her head. "A few minutes before closing time, someone came into the shop. Mother said he was really an important client and that daddy would take me another time."

Nagato resisted the urge to scowl. He knew for a fact it was not the first time his father had blown Sakura off for a client. His shop was far more important than his daughter. No, _money_ was more important than his familial obligation as a father. Nagato knew he should change the topic, this was dangerous territory enough as it is; he didn't need to add gasoline to the already growing fire that was his sister's temper. He needs to tell her before she was overcome with rage.

"Do you want to know what our parents were hiding?" Nagato asked.

"Not really," Sakura answered honestly.

This surprised Nagato and before he knew it he blurted out, "Why?"

"They didn't want me to know and, if my hunch is right, it might ruin my trust in everyone I grew to love." The pink haired vixen said. She had such conviction in her voice; almost as if she was preparing herself to deny the words he will come to say.

Nagato almost wanted to change the conversation once more, this time to something entirely different than his original purpose. But he knew that it would do no good for him to skip this topic. Sakura needed to hear this. She needed to know that the world was truly not black and white like she had believed for so long. She needed to know that where she had placed her faith all of these years were wrong. Desperately and horribly wrong.

"Well that's too bad." Nagato told her. "I think I will tell you anyway."

"You will do no such thing." The pink haired female stated. Sakura's eyes flashed and for a moment Pein wondered if her instinctual selective hearing would kick in. Or would she be forced to listen to him instead?

"Our family was just like every other person who you despise right now; especially our father." Nagato said.

Sakura shook her head before a heated refusal came from her lips. "No!"

"Yes he was Sakura; and that little shop of his was the whole reason they were killed."

* * *

"Tell me what happened that night," Itachi demanded his father. Itachi had no idea what made him demand such a thing from his father. Such obvious disrespect towards an elder was against his upbringing in every way, shape, and form. Yet it still slipped from his tongue, all because it involved that pink haired vixen that had so rudely walked into his life and challenged him.

"Itachi!" Mikoto cried out. She had grown accustom to Sasuke speak in such a manner towards them; he always acted before he thought. But Itachi _never_ did anything rashly. He always had things planned at least a few steps ahead. So when her eldest son had spoken so brazenly and _aggressively_ towards his father, Mikoto grew worried.

"Boy, you have no right to demand anything from me." Fugaku retaliated.

"Would you rather she does it? At least with me you might come out of this alive." Itachi said. Even he was shocked at the words that had flowed out of his mouth. He had never been so disrespectful; but what Sakura had told them shook something inside him.

Itachi had never been a fighter. He had always preferred to solve his problems with words, but on rare occasions verbal tactics proved useless and a physical fray had to take place to show who was dominate. Just like the animals people had believed them to evolve from. And hearing how at the mere age of _eight_ the harsh vixen, which had generated havoc in his normally dull routine, saw the horrors of the world; with his father as one of the men showing her it.

"Did you just threaten your father, Itachi?" Mikoto asked in shock. Surely this could not be her well-mannered son.

"Mother, I think you should leave. This is a conversation solely between father and me." Itachi told his mother. Itachi doubted his father wanted his sweet wife to know what he had done a few years back, to his young son's best friend nonetheless.

"Itachi I will no-" Mikoto was interrupted by her husband who let out a defeated sigh.

"Mikoto, the boy needs to hear this. And I need to get this off my conscience. Maybe it is time to come clean about all my misdeeds." Fugaku told her.

"You have done nothing wrong, Fugaku! You are a good man. Our son is just not thinking correctly at the moment! Fugaku plea—" Mikoto was silenced by a glare from her husband. The message was clear to the matriarch. _Leave._ And because it was the head of the clan giving the order now, not her husband, Mikoto had no other choice but to obey his command.

When his female counterpart left, Fugaku questioned his elder son. "How did you find out?"

"She told me." Itachi responded.

"How did you come across her?"

"She was the one who was going against the Organization."

"But what made her tell _you._"

"She didn't; a few of us were just in the room when she told Pein, her brother." That got a reaction out of Fugaku. Her brother ordered him to kill those two people? The leader of the Akatsuki ordered the members to kill something that organization valued. The older man quickly recovered from his shock, though the disapproval laced his voice when he questioned his son on the matter.

"So what do you want to know, Itachi?"

"Why didn't you kill her?" Fugaku hadn't expected to hear that. Especially since his oldest son was never one to condone the taking of another person's life unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I hardly think you are at liberty to ask that," Fugaku said.

"She asked Pein that, I merely restated her question to a man who could actually answer it. So tell me _father_, why did you not kill her? She said she begged you to; she said she solicited you to rip her eyes out before killing her. So why didn't you do it?" Itachi asked.

Fugaku debated on telling his son his reason at all. He certainly didn't have to explain himself to his son. But at the same time he knew his son was persistent in matters he deemed important, and somehow that pink haired child he chose to keep alive all those years ago had made a place in his son's life. A place he knew Itachi would not let become vacant anytime soon. A smile suddenly crept onto the old man's face.

"She reminded me of your mother when we were younger." History always repeats in the most surprising ways. Maybe Itachi will find happiness through Sakura like he did with Mikoto.

* * *

Kakashi was surprised when the girl he considered a daughter came to his door with tears in her eyes. But the moment he saw the drops of liquid cascade down her face his shock turned to anger. He vowed to murder the person that caused them. It took a lot to make his pink haired surrogate daughter to tear up, and a lot more to make her actually _cry. _

"Sakura, what happened?" He asked as he shut the door after ushering her into his small home. He cupped her face with one of his hands, forcing her to look at him before wiping away her tears with his thumb.

"I met the leader of the Akatsuki today," she whispered.

Kakashi's visible eye widened. "What did he do to you? Did he threaten you?" Kakashi knew it would be hard, but he would kill the man for making his pink haired daughter cry. Even if he was going to die in the process, it would be worth it. Because to him, Sakura needed to smile; she needed to hope.

Sakura was a part of the future of Konoha. All of her generation was, and for one of them to shut off their faith in this town was bad. It only took one person to question their faith before everyone started to. And as more doubt flooded their mind the worse this city's future would be.

They had to prevent that. That was the whole reason he and others were going against the Akatsuki. They needed to protect this town's future. Therefore they needed to protect the younger generations.

"He didn't threaten me Kakashi, that man would never threaten me." At her statement, Kakashi couldn't help but disagree with her.

"Sakura he is the leader of the organization we are trying to take down. He will kill you to keep that organization running smoothly."

"He is my brother." Her answer was faint, barely above a whisper. But Kakashi heard her. And his shock returned.

Kakashi was well acquainted with Sakura's once iconic figure. When he had first met her, Sakura had only talked about her brother. How great he was, how she wanted to be just like him, how she wanted to see him again, or how she was so grateful he was _her _brother. But now, the grey haired man was curious to know if that sibling devotion would continue now that she had discovered he was the man she was trying to destroy.

Was her piety to Konoha stronger than her commitment to the man who had done her wrong?

"What did he say to you, Sakura?"

"He told me why my parents were killed. And I…I believe him." Kakashi could hear her heart breaking in her words. He could hear the last of her foundation crumbling away. This was why he loved her. He knew it was probably not the time to think about that. But this was why so many of them in the resistance loved her. She was strong and outspoken her in beliefs, but she was still a child. A child who clung to the innocence she claimed everyone had. She had the innocence all of them had lost long ago.

But it was also the reason Tsunade and he was so dead set on protecting her. She shouldered so much, and they both were just waiting on the day where she couldn't bear the weight anymore. When that day came, they promised themselves and each other as her surrogate parents, they would carry that weight. But only when she could no longer do it on her own. Kakashi was thinking maybe now they should have intervened sooner, but Tsunade's words rang clear in his head.

"_Sakura needs to know her limits before she can ask either of us to help her do what she cannot achieve on her own. If we interfere now we could risk her losing her personal identity and possibly lapse into a state of psychosis."_

So Kakashi settled on comforting her in the only way he knew how. "Tell me why you believe him," Kakashi pulled her into his chest.

Sakura's head buried into the man's chest and for a moment a small smile crept onto her face. This was why she went to Kakashi instead of her friends. He knew how to listen and ask the right questions. He knew how to make her feel like things weren't crashing down around her. Even though she knew that life would go on without her, he made her remember that for right now she was here with someone who cared for her and she loved him for that. Kakashi was her father figure, the man who she knew she would always be able to count on. The man she knew she could tell anything to.

"It makes sense, all the things I had questioned before their deaths. All of it makes sense as to why they died. I would have done the same thing if I were him." Sakura told him.

This surprised Kakashi. Sakura had always valued a person's life, but Sakura also valued what was right more than what she wanted in life. "Why?" he asked.

"Because they were evil, they were horrid, _they were monsters._" Sakura's voice caught in her throat every time she said 'they'. Kakashi knew she was trying to fight the tears from falling once more.

"Why were they monsters?" He questioned. He knew talking this out would make everything better for the young girl. It would make her rational once more.

"They sold women for sex. Women they obtained illegally. And they wanted to sell me to someone as well. They wanted to whore their daughter out when she was eight years old because some disgusting man had a lolicon fetish and would pay a hefty amount." Sakura told him, the tears fell once more.

"Are you sure you can trust what the Akatsuki leader said?" Kakashi asked. This was something that seemed a little too farfetched, but Kakashi didn't know what Sakura's original family life was like before.

"At first I was hesitant, but the more he said the more it made sense. I remember seeing that man on more than one occasion. I remember how every time his eyes landed on me, I just wanted to run and hide. I recall how my father would always put his hand between my shoulder blades and nudge me closer to that disgusting pig and how when I tried to tell my mother she would tell me that my presence helps daddy to obtain an increase in profit with that client." Sakura told Kakashi. "How can what Nagato said be lies when I felt them myself at such a young age?"

"So you would have killed your parents because they were going to whore you out?" Kakashi asked. He needed to ask this, not because he was curious. But because he knew this was the internal battle Sakura was having right now.

Sakura hesitated on answering. She wasn't so sure. After a few minutes of deliberation Sakura answered Kakashi's question. "No, I wouldn't kill them for that."

"Then why would you?" The grey haired man asked.

"Because this quaint little town has a dark secret; it only takes one person to make the whole town greedy. Corruption spreads a lot easier than anyone can possible fathom. And my own family played a huge part in creating the snowball effect. No one was doing anything about all the mayhem that was created. They turn a blind eye to it and I don't know how. But it needs to end now_._"

_It will end now._

* * *

**Okay so there was the chapter. To be honest I think there will only be one or two chapters left at the most, it depends on what goes down in the next chapter. I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think in a review though.**

**-Kori.**


	12. Daddy, Daddy

**Okay here is the update for Rumor. I hope you guys like it, despite it being one of the shorter stories. **

* * *

Sakura choked back her sobs as she stared at her old, abandoned home. Who would have thought that the one part of her life she had thought she kept protected, turned out to be the part that damned her? Who would have thought her own, fucking parent's caused her precious hometown's terrible snowball effect?

It made her wonder if anything her parents told her, or their emotions towards her, were really true? All those nights her father stayed awake to console her, were they insincere? Did he really love her? Sakura doubted her mother ever did. No, the pretty red haired woman was just there. Sakura had never felt any real connection to her mother. If Nagato had told her that their mother tried to kill her, then maybe Sakura might have come to terms with the fiasco far more easily than the enemy being her father.

But Sakura had always thought her dad loved her, though now she had her doubts. What kind of father would sell the daughter he supposedly cherished? No sane one would. No normal father would. Sakura knew that with that logic, the answer should be obvious. Her father just saw her as a way to make a quick buck. But the child in her, the one that still clings to her dreams, keeps telling her that it's not true. Her parents, _her father_, would not do such a thing to her. It was Nagato trying to warp her thoughts to benefit him, that nothing he told her was true.

But, then she would remember what she had told Kakashi. She remembered how distant he got in his final weeks with her. Or how he would take her out to amazing restaurants dressed her newest clothes and how they would almost magically run into a client of his. For a time, she was beginning to question if he was even her real father.

The rosette stared at the old building for a few minutes. It felt like a life time that she stood there, but she knew it could have only been for ten minutes tops. So many things she had longed to say. She wanted to say she missed them, that she loved them. She opened her mouth to speak, to finally get things off of her chest.

"I used to pray to recover you. Ach, du." Sakura told the house. "I have always been scared of you...And your neat mustache, and your Aryan eye, bright blue." Tears formed in the rosette's eyes as she recited the words she had memorized so long ago in school. These words were not the ones she had intended to say, they just came out. Sakura related to them so well and more so now than she had ever imagined before. "You stand at the blackboard, daddy, in the picture I have of you, no less a devil for that, no not any less the black man who, bit my pretty red heart in two...The black telephones off at the root, the voices just can't worm through. If I've killed one man, I've killed two-"

Sakura took a deep breath. Why was finding closure so hard? Why had she waited so long to do it? Would it have been easier if she had done it when she was younger? For some reason, the rosette truly doubted it would have been any easier to walk through this ordeal with her head held high.

"There's a stake in your fat black heart. And the villagers never liked you...They always knew it was you." Sakura had said these words with disdain. What Nagato had told her, rang through her head. She was curious how many people knew of her father's dirty little secret. How many funded his little project? How many didn't bother to try and stop him? There was quite a bit probably.

Sakura was in tears now. The liquid cascaded down her face as she clenched her fists. She wanted her lips to permanently close, but now she wasn't sure if that was possible. They words were just flowing out now.

_"Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through."_

* * *

She kissed him for a second time. And just like the first time, he didn't stop her. Instead he kissed her back, hesitantly. How did he get into this predicament? He was an Uchiha; they were never caught in a snare. Yet here he was, caught between a woman and a wall; in her clutches. What shook the man the most was the fact that he didn't really want to escape.

She pulled away from him, a grin plastered on her face. "You seemed to have liked that Uchiha."

The moment her lips detached from his, he felt as if he had regained his rationality. She was an aphrodisiac which flooded his senses. She was becoming addicting and he realized for once in his life, he might not have the strength to pull away.

"What are you trying to steal now, Sakura?" Itachi asked her. His attempt at making his voice harsh was futile, and instead came out as a breathy whisper.

"Why do you assume that I am trying to steal from you?" Sakura questioned. Her lips brushed against his neck and it took every ounce of control Itachi had to make him not groan. What was this woman doing to him?

"You stole my necklace the last time," He responded.

"And you refused to give mine back; but after all that has transpired I would rather not want it back." She murmured against the soft skin of his neck once more. "Don't worry; I am not planning on killing you."

Itachi stilled at her declaration. That thought was not in his mind previously, although now that it was he doubted her intentions. It was obvious she was not there to be sexually tempting. "Then what are you attempting to do?"

Sakura pulled away from his neck. Her emerald eyes stared into his obsidian ones. She contemplated on answering his question. Then she realized that maybe this wasn't such a good idea to do, at least with Itachi. Nevertheless, after staring into those soft depths of onyx, she found herself answering his question a minute later. "To escape; to leave for just a little while," Sakura whispered. "Please help me with that one, small task."

"Why do you want to escape? You didn't seem to care if you died before all of this." Itachi asked her. His voice was softer than he intended it to be. He wanted it to be cold and distant; how he would normally sound towards an opponent.

"I don't want to escape from the punishment of what I have done; I want to escape from the reality of the situation that had caused me to do what I have done." She told him. "Surely you know what that feels like?" Her eyes stared into his before her lips descended back onto his neck.

Itachi resisted the urge to groan once more. The woman was the devil personified. She was the temptress no one could resist. A siren. And she was making him regret his lack of willpower. Never had a woman done what she was capable of. He had underestimated her from the beginning. He believed her to be inferior and stupid for what she thought she could accomplish. However, because of all he sized her up to be, she had found a way to manipulate him.

Baby steps.

That was all it took for her to make a place in his life. He didn't love her, no he couldn't love her; they barely knew each other. Then again it didn't mean he could forget her now. All that she had done would remain etched into his mind forever.

"So will you help me, _Itachi_?" She crooned against his neck. Her lips toyed with the soft flesh. The word 'no' was at the tip of his tongue, but for some reason he could not voice it out. So instead he did what played on his mind since she came.

_Kiss her._

* * *

As the memory of her previous events with Itachi ran through her head, Sakura couldn't help but smile. He was the only person who could draw that side out of her, well draw it out willingly. That fact should have shocked Sakura. Shock her because since her parent's execution she could never find the desire to be playful. That wasn't the case with her best friends' older brother; it seemed like she was always frisky around him.

Sakura let the silver chain slide through her fingers once more. She liked the feel of it against her skin. "You know me too well Itachi, you know me to well." She murmured.

Sakura looked out the window. The scenery was blurry; the rosette could hardly make out shapes as the train zoomed pace. She wasn't lying when she told Itachi she did not want to escape from her punishment. However, her hopping aboard a train to take her far away was not her escaping punishment. It was her running away from her home and the wrong done there.

Sakura was leaving her tainted home to go to another tainted place. The rosette meant that it all would end. Her plans made her realize something that would make her cry. She was what she feared she would become. A monster, but Sakura just couldn't say she regretted what she will do. It will be all kinds of wrong, she knew that. However, she still found herself falling for the temptation revenge presented. That thought made her scowl. Revenge was such a horrid word. It made people irrational; maybe that was why she could never succumb to sleep? Could she blame that on revenge or was the insomnia a symptom of guilt?

Sakura wasn't so sure anymore. Before, when she didn't know it was her brother's doing or parents' misdeeds, it was easy to lay blame on the big, mean organization that destroyed her home. It is not easy to come to terms with everything that you had grown up to believe as truth turned out to be a fib. She wasn't sure she would cope, despite the closure she had attempted to gain earlier.

She meant it when she said she was through. But she was only through with that part of her past. There were still things she needed to complete in order to be truly done with everything that has transpired in her humble town.

"Now arriving at Platform 9," Sakura heard over the train's intercom. With a sudden jerk, the train pulled to a complete stop. The rosette quickly got off the train. Her mind focused on one thing and one thing only.

She killed one man, now she will kill two.

* * *

**First of I would like to say the things Sakura had said to the house in the beginning, were not my words. They were the words from 'Daddy' by Sylvia Plath. Her work is amazing and I felt her words could sum up Sakura's emotions far better than mine. Also, I know this is short compared to all the other chapters, but I can't really put force this chapter any further. However I have an idea for the next and fear that this story is really coming to a close real soon. However, I do look forward to your response for this!**

**-Kori**


	13. Out, out Brief Candle

**Here is the final Chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it! :D There is a surprise at the end of the Chapter; unless you are on my Author Alert list then you will already know! :D**

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

As the young rosette was walking down a deserted street, Sakura knew she should probably focus on the task she was about to perform. But her mind seemed to continue to replay the past. Questions kept popping up. Did they even want to sell her? If they did why didn't she pick up that something was wrong? From what she remembered of her psychology lessons with Tsunade, children were supposed to sense when something was different; they could distinguish it because of how unbiased they were to their surroundings. More importantly, _why_ would they want to sell her? Was she not a good daughter to them? Was she a freak?

The rosette shook her head; she needed to get rid of those thoughts. Fugaku told her where she could find her last victim. It took a while to convince him to give her the information she so desperately desired. And because it took so much work, she would be damned that she would let her own fear make her back out of doing this. Shakespeare said in Macbeth one death causes a continuous cycle which would only be stopped by the death of the one who started the mess. To Sakura, this was ending the cycle once and for all.

It might destroy what was left of her humanity. It might make her a monster. But it had to be done, because if she didn't do it who will? How many children will have to go through what she had to before someone realizes that none of this is right? Sakura didn't care, because numbers shouldn't matter. What makes a million of unhappy children more important than one? Nothing, nothing makes just one trivial. Each child is alive, has friends, and is _human_. They each deserve their humanity and Sakura would go through hell to make sure they could.

With a deep breath, Sakura cleared her mind of all the past. She needed to look towards the future. She needed to focus on all the possibilities that could happen. The rosette came to a stop when she found herself at the entrance of a large building. Her eyes darted over its exterior trying to find the address.

_7842 Blue Diamond Road._

A small smile curled at her lips. This was the right place. However, the young aspen eyed teen was not alone. There was a man at the door. Sakura let out an exasperated sigh before she put on a flirtatious smile. With the sense of false confidence she had perfected over the years, Sakura walked up to the dark haired male.

"Hello," she purred.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A masculine voice crooned at the petite girl before him. His dull, brown eyes stared at her jeweled, green ones. He noticed how she would occasionally bat her eyes at him. She was going to be fun, he could tell.

"That depends. What do you think I am?" Sakura murmured. To him her voice sounded like the soft hum of a mockingbird right after a nice, spring rain. Her emerald orbs gazed up at him through her thick lashes.

"I think you are a very pretty little lady," he answered. He couldn't help but be mesmerized by her. She was pretty, young, _exotic. _She was everything he looked for in a mistress. He wanted her. He _would_ have her, his wife be damned.

"I am pretty?" She asked. For a moment, she was startled. Pretty was never a word she would have described herself as. But she recovered quickly; this was not a task she could so easily let slip through her fingers. Even if the man had complimented her like no other person had ever done.

"You are _very_ pretty, honey." He told her. Sakura watched as the man's eyes gazed her body. She felt disgusting as she allowed him to stare at her, despite his gracious compliment. It was wrong. But she needed to deal with it. He might be her only ticket into that building.

"_This is to end it all. I need this to end_." Sakura thought. She turned her attention back to the man. "Are you always this kind to women you meet?"

"Only to the pretty ones, Ma'am," he told her, giving her a—should could only assume he thought it was—sexy wink.

"Well this pretty gal would like to escape the wind. Could you grant her that small favor?" Sakura noticed how the guard seemed to hesitate for a moment. Sakura could practically see the internal battle he was having. This assured her that she was in fact in the right place.

"Well I really am not supposed to," he told her.

Sakura shot him a pleading glance. "Please, Mister? I am only asking you to grant me a place to get out of the freezing wind for just a little while. I promise not to overstay my welcome." Sakura bit her lip for added effect. She hoped that would be enough for the man to let her into the building; thankfully it was.

"Alright, pretty lady, but just this once, alright? And I expect a reward for this." He told her as he began to open the door.

"Oh you will get a reward for this, honey. I promise." She cooed in his ear before he fell limp to the floor.

Sakura couldn't help but think her brother really needs to teach his men that they were not invincible. And that they should never underestimate a stranger just because they look harmless. The man who allowed her to enter the building was by far the easiest to trick. The other Akatsuki recruits required a lot more charm or skill to slip past. But she had still managed to get to the heart of the base her target was at. She was close, and she could feel her heart racing at the idea of finding the man who made, well would have if it wasn't for Fugaku, her witness the murder of her parents.

"Let the games begin," Sakura said as she pushed open a door.

* * *

"You did _what?_" Naruto hollered at his adoptive father.

"She is a very convincing person, Naruto." Fugaku tried to reason.

"The dobe is right, Father. You should have never given her that information." Sasuke explained in the only way he knew how. Sakura was his friend; he would protect her when he could. But he can't protect her now. And Sasuke had never been so afraid in his life.

"She is an adult, Sasuke. Sakura can take care of herself."

"But who would prevent her from going too far? Who would calm her down? Who will be there when she _breaks?_" Naruto screamed. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto had no regards for these people's feelings. Yes they adopted him, clothed him, fed him, and gave him a home to live in; but Sakura was the first person to like him when she wasn't _obligated_ to. She helped him when everyone else just sat back at let him cry. He needed to help her; to save her from herself.

"She will not break! She is a strong girl." Fugaku argued. He didn't want to think that she was unstable, that she couldn't handle herself. He wouldn't because it was not true. She was like his wife, capable of kindness to all but dangerous when crossed. That rosy haired girl he watched grow up was strong like Mikoto.

"Father she is _mental_. She is my best friend but she does not think rationally!" Sasuke argued. He pinched the bridge of his nose; this was supposed to be just another family brunch. How it spiraled into Sakura leaving the city and probably turning into a psychopath, he wasn't so sure.

"Where is she?" Naruto asked.

"Is this going to kill her? Answer me honestly boys," Fugaku asked.

"It might, it very well might." Sasuke answered.

"Then I guess I have no choice," Fugaku let out a sigh before he went into the details. He explained to his young sons where the base was, how to get in, and what the worst case scenarios could be. When the boys got up to leave, Fugaku added, "And boys, take your brother with you."

This surprised the two younger males. "Why?" The both asked.

"I know your brother a lot better than he knows himself, just take him with you." Fugaku said with a knowing smile.

* * *

"Where did you two insist I go?" Itachi asked with slight annoyance. He had already been in a foul mood when Sakura was not in his room when he woke up; it didn't help that he could hardly remember anything after he had kissed her. So when his brothers barged into his room and demanded that he go with them on request of their father did not help lighten his mood.

"We are going to retrieve our friend." Sasuke replied.

"And where is Sakura?" Itachi asked. Itachi was surprised when his raven haired brother slammed his foot against the breaks, or at least he was until he remembered he never mentioned to his brothers that he knew the rosette's name. For once, he was glad for his brother's love of speeding; it was the main reason they were on a back road.

"You bastard! How do you know Sakura-chan's name?" Naruto screamed.

Itachi winced before he replied, "Her brother told me."

The two boys looked at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Sakura-chan doesn't have a brother! You must have gotten lucky and guessed the right name." Naruto said between snickers.

"Looks like I know her better than you do," Itachi murmured before letting the topic slide. "Now Sasuke if you are going to look for Sakura, I suggest that you should start driving again."

"If Sakura does have a brother, Aniki, who is it?" Sasuke questioned as he pressed the accelerator once more.

"Pein," Itachi's response got him another round of laughter from Naruto and a slight snicker from Sasuke.

"If _he was_ her brother, then you two must have fucked rabbits!" Naruto roared with rabbits. The blonde could not see how the harsh, workaholic, and rude Akatsuki leader could ever be related to their sweet albeit sometimes psychotic, caring Sakura.

"Well I wouldn't say like rabbits," Itachi teased.

Sasuke had to resist the urge to slam on the breaks once more. He and Naruto didn't know what horrified them more, Itachi teasing them about _that_ or the question of whether or not Itachi and their best female friend actually had sex.

"Please tell me you are choking," Naruto begged. Itachi gave him a look.

"Do you mean _joking, _Dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"That too," Naruto said. "But seriously, you and Sakura didn't….you know…right?"

"You were the one that said sex would solve the problem between Sakura and me," Itachi reminded.

"I wasn't serious! I mean you might be her type and everything…but, but you're not! She is kind and amazing whereas you are...well _you_." Naruto explained.

Itachi rolled his eyes at his brother. '_The feeling is mutual, Naruto_' he thought. "Sasuke, if you want to go find your friend I suggest you start going at a faster pace."

Itachi wouldn't say it aloud, but he knew something must be going down soon. Why else would his father suggest that he go with his brothers to retrieve _their _friend? Their friend that he saw daily, that he thought about constantly, and that he kissed a couple times…not that his father knew about that.

* * *

The men in this room were far more observant than the ones Sakura had previous encountered. They had noticed her within a few minutes, but they stood there and gaped. Not one of them tried to stop her. In fact it took a few minutes for one of the scrawny looking ones to even get the courage to talk to her!

"What are you doing here, Ma'am? This is a secure sector and I doubt someone like _you_ has authorization to enter her." One man confronted her. Sakura looked at him for a moment, slightly impressed.

"What do you mean by '_someone like me_' grunt?" Sakura pretended to let out a harsh snarl. These men were higher ups, not as easy to fool. However, she was Nagato's sister. No matter how upsetting she might find that fact at times—he is still a monster to her—she could use that relation to her advantage.

"First off, I am not a grunt. I am an E3! Second, I meant _someone like you_, someone who is ignorant and has no right to be here." He told her. He seemed so sure of himself, so sure that she wouldn't be the one to tear him to shreds. Sakura smirked at that. She could play the big, mean bitch everyone feared. She took a moment to acquire that 'I am better than you' attitude she had learned from Sasuke before speaking.

"Well E3, I don't give a damn about your rank. I have connections you couldn't even fathom. And 'someone like me' can crush someone like you with the snap," Sakura snapped her fingers "of my fingers." She had learned a long time ago that when in a tight situation never be kind, always be commanding. Kindness gets you trampled on whereas if you are demanding you get results a lot faster. "You will learn real fast that when I say jump, you jump. When I say speak, you speak. When I say jump from a building, by God you will jump to your death if I so wish it. I can be a real nightmare when you piss me off E3." She gave him a sly grin when she noticed him begin to quake. "Now, be a good puppy and go fetch me your commanding officer. And tell the other grunts to scram!"

"Yes ma'am!" The grunt said before running off to fetch the man and telling his fellow peers to leave the room. Sakura stood in her spot, pretending to be confident. But inside, Sakura was nervous. She didn't know how she was going to approach this man. For some reason, walking up to him and saying: "Hey you killed my parents when I was eight. It has been ten years since then but I decided to kill you now, so stand still!"

She could use Kakashi right now. She really needed his comforting aura. Especially since this was just as much of his problem as it was hers. She wanted to curse herself, why did she want to do this alone? Oh yeah, so others didn't die. Sometimes she wished she was selfish, wished that she had clung to the idea that her life was valuable. Even if she knew it didn't mean a damn thing, she could have at least pretended right about now.

_I can't lose you._

Tsunade's implied message rang through the rosette's head. Memories of Tsunade flooded Sakura's mind. Tsunade pushing her on the swing, feeding her the first warm home cooked meal since the death of her parents, the long talks out growing up…and the comforting hugs. Tsunade loved her.

And then another person's face showed, Kakashi's. He cheered her up when she was sad; talked to her about things she could never discuss with anyone else. Kakashi was her rock in the middle of a stormy sea. He loved her too.

Maybe her life wasn't completely unappreciated. Maybe there were people who would miss her if she died, people who would be heartbroken with her demise. Could she really risk her life so carelessly for revenge, knowing someone will actually miss her?

"You are the one who asked for me?" A man's voice pulled her out of her reverie.

_Even if she wanted to, it's too late to turn back now._

"Yes I was, Mr. Uchiha." Sakura turned on her sultry voice. She occasionally batted her eyes to give herself that demure, harmless appearance once again.

"I remember you," He said in a gruff tone. His ruby eyes checked out her figure. She had grown into an attractive woman. It was a shame that she probably didn't want into his bed. She would be a nice lay.

Sakura's bashful glances shifted into ice. "Good then I don't need to play coy, Obito. Do not check me out, you are repulsive to me. And I only want one thing from you," She told him.

Obito looked at her in shock. He couldn't believe that a person could do a complete 180 within seconds. She was a juicy sweet who turned rancid before he even touched her! His eyes flitted across her face searching for any clue as into what made her change so quickly. He couldn't find it. "What is it you want from me then?" He asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.

"Your head on a golden platter," Sakura said. "And I expect it soon."

Obito let out a harsh laugh. "And what do you expect me to say? Here you can have my head right now?" His eyes turned to slits, "Not a chance in hell bitch."

"Hell is all around you honey, it's time you realize what you are truly up against." Sakura said. Then she punched him.

The left side of Obito's face stung and throbbed; it hurt. "You bitch!" He yelled. His face contorted with rage. He presumed she would call him some names and cry to her brother afterwards, not _hit_ him.

"We established this already; I am indeed a bitch. But this bitch is going to make you wish life was but a dream." Sakura growled. All her previous fears were gone. Adrenaline filled her blood and her thoughts turned bloody.

"I would like to see you try!" The older man laughed.

"Fine," Sakura lunged at him. She threw a punch at him, but this time he dodged. This time, expected an attack. He continued to dodge the few punches she threw at him, trying to find a nice opening.

Once he found it, he threw a counter punch. Sakura bit her lip to prevent a scream as his fist dislocated her left shoulder.

"Damnit!" She growled. Obito was too close to her right now, she needed a break. Sakura needed just enough time to relocate her shoulder. The rosette couldn't fight with a dislocated shoulder. He was strong, stronger than Sakura expected. It was her mistake. She knew he was strong, but Sakura should have never given into her emotions. And she shouldn't have thought that she could handle this on her own. She was a fool.

Obito ran at her again. She had to take the hit, there was no way she could dodge it. She let out a hiss as his punch grazed her hip. A bruised hip was easier to handle than a hit to -the stomach.

* * *

Itachi was the first to notice something was not right. There should be a guard at the door, but strangely one was absent.

"Well here we are," Naruto said, staring up at the tall building. He attempted to break the awkward silence.

"It looks empty," Sasuke commented.

"Apparently everyone is inside," Itachi said before walking up to the door.

"But shouldn't someone be on guard?" Naruto questioned.

"Not if Sakura got here," Sasuke mumbled.

"Then how are we going to get in?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shot him a look. How was this idiot his friend? Oh yeah…he was his brother. "We use the pin code."

"…do you remember what it is?" Naruto asked. Sasuke was about to smack the blonde when he realized he didn't remember it.

"…shit." Sasuke mulled over some ideas on how to break in. Without a guard they couldn't get in. Without a pin code they couldn't get in. How were they supposed to get in?

"Dumbasses, hurry up. The temperature is dropping." Itachi told his younger brothers. The two younger siblings gaped at Itachi, who had somehow managed to open the door.

"How did you do that?" Naruto questioned.

"I knew the pin." Itachi answered.

* * *

Still Obito was too close for comfort. Taking a deep breath, Sakura quickly placed her right palm on his chest and forced him a decent distance away. This was her break. She could use this small amount of time to relocate her shoulder.

"Want to relocate your shoulder?" Obito said with a sly smirk. The raven haired man didn't let her respond. "Well I am confident that I will win this fight, so I will let you have a break. Think of it as your parting gift for when I kill you."

"You won't kill me." Sakura hissed out. But she did take the opportunity he so kindly offered her and popped her shoulder back into place. She let out a scream when it repositioned. The pain was even worse than when it was popped out.

"Hurt, didn't it?" He said with a cheeky grin. Sakura gritted her teeth. He loved this, her pain. He still got some sick satisfaction out of her agony. Even after ten years she was still a source of amusement for this bastard. "Good, I think you deserve some pain."

"I think you deserve a knife in the throat," Sakura snarled.

"Well some thoughts are better as dreams," He told her.

"Are we going to fight or not?" Sakura asked. She hated how he was toying with her.

"You are not fighting at all!" a new voice sounded, shocking Obito and Sakura both.

The two had different reactions at the new arrivals. Sakura's was horror. She didn't want them to be there. _Any _of them to be there, they shouldn't be there. Obito on the other hand, his eyes lit up with glee.

"Cousins!" He said with an elated tone. "How happy I am to see you!"

"Leave," Sakura whispered. Obito seemed to be the only one who heard her.

"My dear, they are not leaving at all. In fact, I think I will let them help me kill you!" Obito's cheerful voice didn't seem to disperse.

_Most of the Uchiha clan was psychotic._

"I would not kill Sakura-chan!" Naruto hollered. He glared at the older male, an Uchiha he barely knew.

Obito looked at Sasuke. "Will you Sasuke-chan?" The onyx eyed teenager glared at him before snorting out a "No."

Obito shrugged. "Tachi will help me, won't you baby cousin?" This cousin, Obito was sure would help him eradicate the pink haired wench. Itachi was a killing machine.

"Obito, she is not going to die today." Itachi replied.

Sakura looked at Itachi in shock. Sure they had shared some kisses, and she thought he was ridiculously attractive, but Sakura was positive he wanted her dead.

"Why not?" Obito whined. "She came to kill me. She punched me. She started it. I was merely finishing it." Obito, when it came to killing, was like a child. When his favorite toy was taken away from him, he would whine until he got his way.

Itachi shot his cousin a glare, refusing to stoop to that level of immaturity. "She will not die today; Akatsuki Leader's decision."

"Pein can shove it," Obito muttered.

And something in Sakura snapped. He staggered back when she punched him in the sternum _hard._ She shattered it in a fit of rage. How _dare_ he insult her brother like that? Yes, Nagato might be an asshole, he might be rude and cold; He might appear not to have a heart, but he was still her brother damnit! And _no one_, but her, can affront him like that.

The rosette walked toward his body, lying on the ground and struggling for a deep breath, and placed her fingers delicately around his throat. "You will _never_ speak of Nagato that way again, or I will _rip_ out your throat." Sakura growled.

"You don't have the guts," Obito choked out.

"Watch me," Sakura's hand clenched around his throat. Obito struggled to break her grip, but with a broken sternum, it was hard to move. But the oldest Uchiha still tried to escape. He still tried to fight to live.

Naruto and Sasuke stared in awe at Sakura. They couldn't believe that their best friend was strangling a man. Suffocating him all for insulting the Akatsuki leader; Sakura didn't even like the Akatsuki!

Itachi on the other hand, watched his cousin's body slowly stop moving; he watched as the struggle became less fervent, less like a person trying to live. Itachi only took his eyes off Obito's body when it no longer moved. Then he turned his attention to Sakura.

Her hand still firmly gripped his cousin's throat, as if she wouldn't let go until she knew he was dead. And Itachi suddenly grew worried. He wasn't certain if she was going to be okay. Itachi walked up to Sakura, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura," he whispered.

"Out, out brief candle," was all she muttered. Her hand slipped from his cousin's lifeless body.

"Sakura," he repeated; grabbing her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes.

She looked exhausted. Her face was a little paler than it normally was. Her breathing was labored and her left shoulder was swallowed by a bruise. But her eyes, her emerald orbs looked peaceful. And Itachi had never thought her more attractive than right now.

So he kissed her.

It took a moment for the two younger boys to process what their brother was doing, but when it finally did. They were not happy.

"Get away from Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed.

"Aniki!" Sasuke grumbled.

Itachi smirked and pulled away from Sakura. "Let's get you to your brother," he told her before scooping her up into his arms.

"Where are you going with Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out once more.

"Home," Itachi stated walking out of the room. "Now hurry up or I am leaving you behind."

* * *

"What happened?" Pein questioned. He started at Sakura's frame, hundled into Itachi's chest. From what Itachi had told him, Sakura had fallen asleep on the way here.

"She killed Obito," Sasuke told the Akatsuki leader.

"Is she hurt?" Sasuke and Naruto had never seen the fearsome Akatsuki leader so gentle towards someone. Pein's eyes scanned Sakura's body, looking for any injury. It didn't take long, her bruised shoulder was hard to miss.

"Konan!" He screamed. A gorgeous, blue haired woman walked into the room minutes later.

"Yes, Nagato?" She asked.

"Tend to her, please." He asked his kind partner. She was a woman; she understood his desire to protect his sister. But Konan also knew Nagato better than anyone; she knew that for him to request her assistance with his sister meant he trusted her. So instead of telling him to do it on his own like she would with any other Akatsuki member, she accepted.

"That won't be necessary." Sakura mumbled, scaring a few of the people in the room. They didn't know she had even woken up.

"But, Sakura-chan we need to make you better!" Naruto told her.

"I will go to Tsunade-sama later. Right now I just want to regain my rationality before I get 'punished'." Sakura said in a sleepy tone.

They weren't sure what kind of punishment she was talking about. Nagato wouldn't kill his sister. He _couldn't_ kill her; he loved her far too much to do such a thing. But the pink haired girl could also be talking about Tsunade chastising her.

"We will discuss the…possible punishment later then, alright Sakura?" Nagato said with a gentle smile directed towards his drowsy sister.

"Well since we are going to discuss this later, can I ask you a question Itachi?" Naruto asked.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at his brother; signaling to ask the question.

"Did you really have sex with Sakura-chan?"

All eyes focused on Itachi after that; all wondering the same thing. Did he? Sasuke and Naruto prayed he didn't. Pein wanted Itachi's head for even the idea of sleeping with his sister. Konan, well she was just thankful for the entertainment.

"Hn."

"That doesn't answer anything!" Naruto complained.

"Naruto, yes I slept with Itachi. Now shut up, I am sleepy." Sakura murmured.

* * *

**So there it is. The final chapter, I hoped you enjoyed it! It was rather lengthy and I think the fight scene wasn't too great. But it was my first one and it wasn't horrible. I enjoyed writing this chapter. AND as a bonus, I also uploaded a prequel to Rumor! Hope you guys like it! :D**

**Thank you guys for all your support. **


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